Quest for Power 2: Challenge Kingdom
by Konrad
Summary: Vegeta feels the need to find out about his heritage and the reduced Z Squad are out to discover their universe, starting with Freezer's race, thrown in the midst of events they cannot control. Follows the events in The Warlord.
1. Ch 1: Hell to pay

**QUEST FOR POWER 2:**

CHALLENGE KINGDOM 

By Konrad

PART 1

"Hmpf! Not bad, kid, but you can do better. You lose, you know what you gotta do." Android 18 said smirking as she threw a punch at Gohan. "You clean my clothes for two weeks!"

"Nuh-uh!" The boy replied. He dodged 18's blow and launched a kick that was deflected. "You clean my clothes for two weeks!"

Despite the fact that Yoshuro's spaceship was slightly cramped for that kind of activity, Gohan and 18 saw the opportunity to fine-tune their reflexes in a light spar. Tenshinhan looked at their interactions in curiosity, with Vegeta sitting nearby staring at the passing stars in reflection. Meanwhile Yoshuro was busy at the commands.

"Hmmm, I wonder how it'd be like to clean Lunch's clothes." Tenshinhan wondered. He looked mischievously at Vegeta. "Hey, Bulma make you clean her clothes?"

"Just her under…HEY, that's none of your business!" The Prince yelled indignantly. Tenshinhan chuckled lightly.

"Well that sounds like fun!" The Triclops mocked while Vegeta turned away ignoring.

_Meh! How will I figure out all the answers?_ Vegeta thought as he recalled the recent events. The Z Squad was asked by the alien Jubians to assist them in a war. A powerful warlord named Dudan wanted an artefact, the Power Stone, which could make him a threat to anyone in the galaxy. Dudan was eventually defeated but at a great cost. Thousands of Jubians perished in the conflict, including the young woman named Lulu, one of their strongest defenders. The Earthlings themselves seemingly lost both Trunks and Piccolo. It's been three days since the remainder of the team has left the Jubians. At the suggestion of Tenshinhan, the team, including their newest Jubian friend Yoshuro, is heading towards the home of Freezer's race.

_The Kosajin, that's what they're called. To think, there's an entire race of them and I was working for just one! And we fought others like Freezer._ The Prince reflected grimly. _Still I must go there. That Kosajin… Sulfus… He talked about Saiyans being alive somewhere. He said I even have a sister! How could that be possible? Yet, that was unmistakably a Saiyan that Piccolo fought the other time so maybe there are others. If there's one way I can find out the truth, it must be with the Kosajin!_

"Hey guys, we're almost there." Yoshuro called out, drawing everyone's attention. Reclaiming his normally stoic expression, Tenshinhan approached the helm of the ship. Ahead of them, an emerald giant, dwarfing by several times planet Earth, awaited their arrival, lazily executing its orbit. The nimble jet's trajectory was accelerated by the massive gravity drawing it in. Within minutes the ship had pierced through the atmosphere. "Here we are! This is planet Motu, as far as anyone knows the home of the Kosajin race."

"Motu, huh? It's about time." Tenshinhan spoke. "Hey, anything you can tell us about these Kosajin?"

"Well I don't know much besides stuff any commoner would know." Yoshuro started. "They're divided between several clans… Apparently, there might be some sort of civil war going on."

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked.

"Well it's really confusing. Like I said I don't know much since I'm not an expert or anything. There was a breakout between the clans about three years ago. And that's not counting the bad blood because of those that left their home to go in the Planet Trade."

_Three years ago? When Trunks killed Freezer and his father?_ Vegeta reflected.

"I'm not sure I'm getting everything." Gohan said.

"That's ok, I only know the basics…" Yoshuro started before the blaring of the ship's sirens drowned the team. "What the… Oh crap!"

"Yoshuro, what's wrong?" 18 asked.

"Somehow we flew straight into an electrical storm. But it formed out of nowhere and it's too strong, it doesn't seem natural." The Jubian stated. Ahead of the ship, a mass of black clouds swarmed rapidly and darts of purple lightning lashed out from them. The Z Squad watched in horror as they plunged into the darkness. "Brace yourselves, people!"

Lightning raced through the sky. Several stray bolts struck the spacecraft, ripping into its outer hull. The ship shuddered violently as it ploughed through the storm.

"Damnit, what did you get us into?!" Vegeta cursed.

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Yoshuro whined as he struggled to keep the ship on course.

"Vegeta." Tenshinhan hissed. The ship rocked more violently and Tenshinhan, Vegeta and 18 were sent sprawling to the floor. "Damnit!"

"This is going to hurt, guys!" Yoshuro yelled as a few circuits caught fire near him.

"Yoshuro, open the door!" Gohan called as he rushed to the ship's exit.

"What?"

"I think I can do something but I need to be out there!"

"Are you nuts, Gohan?!" Tenshinhan yelled as he struggled to regain his footing. However, Yoshuro, not knowing how else they could otherwise get out of this, immediately obeyed Gohan. The boy flew out before Tenshinhan could stop him. "Oh, great. Really great! Hold on everybody, let's hope the boy knows what he's doing…"

_I got no clue what I'm doing._ Gohan thought darkly as he kept pace with the ship. _But I won't stand by while everyone's in danger. After all the super strong beings we faced, it'd be sad to be beaten by a storm._ All around them was nothing but a colossal, black cloud formation that blanketed the view. Electricity crackled everywhere. Gohan wasn't sure they were even heading towards the ground. _This storm is different. It's nothing but lightning. And there's a ki powering it… as if someone made it!_ The Saiyan reasoned.

Quickly a lightning bolt jumped at Gohan. He barely had the time to power up to Super Saiyan and he was struck at his sides. He grunted as he forced it away with his ki, slightly singeing himself in the process. _That wasn't that bad. Now if I can do the same thing for the ship… Cerion! On Mesata, she said I was a godling and that she unlocked some of my godling abilities for me. Time, space, mind. Plus control over my transformations. Maybe I can use all that at the same time._ With a further burst of ki, Gohan ascended to Super Saiyan Two then kept his focus on the ki in the storm. Several electrical sparks erupted in the area and the Saiyan boy saw the flash of one zigzagging towards the ship.

_Time!!!_ Gohan screamed mentally in his mind, channelling all his enormous energy and his inner focus on the task at hand. Abruptly, the flow of time around Gohan was momentarily reversed. In a millisecond, the ship literally skipped backward for barely a feet while the purplish spark that was aimed at it seemed to withdraw for a tiny distance. That fraction of a moment disappeared and both the ship and the electrical ark were back at their normal course and places but that time, minuscule as it was, was all Gohan needed. He put himself between the spacecraft and the electricity and batted the latter away. A small drop of sweat formed on the Saiyan's forehead.

_Wow, that was harder than I thought… Huh?_ A cracking sound interrupted Gohan's thoughts as another ark that he hadn't seen managed to strike the ship near the top of the hull. He felt three more electricity sparks that were coming at the ship. _Damnit, I gotta concentrate! This is more complicated!_ He focused intensely, sending his power through the top. Again, he briefly reversed the flow of time to give himself a margin of maneuver. Gohan rushed to intercept one ark and swatted it away. Continuing his trajectory, he accelerated into Yoshuro's ship, knocking it slightly out of its previous path. That was enough to get it out the way of the second spark. The third spark was completely out of his way on the other side of the ship but, pinpointing it with his ki, he focused his mind on that spot. Instantly a ripple appeared between the ship and the lightning. The electricity passed through the ripple and reappeared harmlessly away from the craft.

Gohan's head throbbed and burned to a high fever from the effort of his new powers. While he continued on the heels of the ship, he felt for an end to the storm. _Crap, how do we get out of this?…_ His lack of concentration rewarded him with a pair of lightning strikes directly at his body. Gohan closed his eyes at the burning pain, his open mouth not letting a sound out. He could now feel himself falling freely. A small explosion indicated that Yoshuro's ship had also been hit. _Kami, will this end???_ Gohan tentatively opened an eye when he felt another ki near him. Once his vision clear a bit, he could make out the form of a red, familiar looking Kosajin right ahead of him. _Cooler???_ Gohan's brain instantly scratched that thought as he felt no hostility. Instead the Kosajin grabbed him and dragged him downwards. Soon, Gohan landed roughly on grass.

"What the hell?" He said as he looked up quickly. Amazingly, the storm vanished completely within a few seconds, almost as abruptly as it came. The sky was a radiant blue with a few clouds. Yoshuro's ship descended shakily, with some parts of its hull charred. Gohan immediately rushed the ship as it landed. "Hey!"

"Ugh! We got lucky I believe." Yoshuro stated as he exited the ship with the others.

"Next time I say I want to join you on one of your adventures, knock me out." Android 18 whined while rubbing a few sore bruises on her arms.

"Gladly." Vegeta retorted.

"Gohan, you okay? I felt you go overboard out there, what happened?" Tenshinhan asked.

"Oh, right." Gohan said and he powered down. "I tried a few tricks but… it didn't all work out. I still don't get what happened."

"Me neither." Tenshinhan replied.

"Ahem!" someone cleared their throat loudly, catching the Z Squad off-guard. They turned their heads to see two Kosajin ahead of them. One of them was a female with red skin. She wore silver armour and helmet, with long flame coloured hair sticking out from underneath the latter. She bore a passing resemblance to Cooler, with a slimmer and smaller frame, and appeared to be in her teens. She had a shy, almost bashful expression on her face and she looked at the Z Squad from behind another female. This second one was slightly taller than the first but her composition was entirely different. She was mostly light purple, with dark purple patches in areas, and she had no apparent exterior armour. At the sides of her head were large, pronounced lightning marks while short, striped hair stuck out vertically. She didn't look nearly as shy as the other Kosajin. As a matter of fact, she looked irate.

"We're what happened." The purple Kosajin stated cooly. Tenshinhan groaned.

"We can explain." He offered wearily.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

Given a couple of more weeks, he would've been up there. One of the best mercenaries at the service of lord Dudan. He'd be up there with his friends Cerion and Sulfus. But instead, Djoukien is roaming throughout the other World, walking along Snake Way.

"Oh well, I went out against some of the best." He often reminded himself, reflecting on the day he died. It hurt when Piccolo forced his hand through him. But then again, Djoukien had done such things himself. Not really put his hand through someone but killed people, sometimes neatly, sometimes gruesomely.

He lived the life of a mercenary for so long, subduing or killing thousands was his job. Within the vast Planet Traders' Guild that had cut a huge swath of territory across the North Galaxy, his rank had risen quickly. In no time he had the approval of the likes of Dudan and even Cooler. But it wasn't the power and the killing that got Djoukien, it was the adventures and the long quests that he relished in. It almost didn't matter that he was dead now, to him it was just an opportunity for more numerous and interesting adventures with plenty of time on his hands. No Dudan, less killing, no destruction of planets, just doing what he wants now.

"Death is life." He mused to himself in conclusion, feeling more satisfied than he had ever been. Not having grown weary of adventures and excitement during his tenure as a mercenary, Djoukien was on his own little mission now. From what a young worker-demon told him, the planets of the Kais are located at the end of Snake Way. They included the planet of the North Kai, the one who surveyed Djoukien's part of the Galaxy. However, the demon had seemed rather unreliable. He said it was the traditional location of the Kais but that in the past several weeks 'something was amiss' and Djoukien couldn't get more information. He only asked him because everybody else he tried to talk were too busy.

And now here Djoukien is walking on Snake Way on some information that may or may not be outdated. He wasn't in a rush though. He was dead. Along the way, he greeted quite a few warriors, all of them running towards the planets of the Kais and taking only a little time to relax and talk before rushing. Strangely enough to Djoukien, none of them were heading to the North Kai's residence. _Weird._ He thought. Not quite as weird as Princess Snake. A cute and affectionate young woman… until she turned into a giant snake and tried to eat him. He escaped easily though he's sure the Princess won't try to eat anyone in the short term. The thought made him chuckle slightly… Djoukien's thoughts were interrupted by a noise.

"Hmm, another fallen warrior going to see the Kais?" he immediately figured and he turned around to see no one. Stunned, he paid more attention to the sound. On second thought, it clearly wasn't that of someone, it was more of a big disturbance somewhere far. Some part of the noise was screeching, another part, he could tell, was people screaming. Djoukien looked over the edge of Snake Way at the thick yellow clouds.

_It's coming from below, from Hell. _Djoukien thought. "Hmmm, sounds like some sort of trouble. Maybe I should go down there and help… Heh, I guess now's as good a time as any to change." he shrugged.

As Djoukien floated off Snake Way, he was surprised as an incredible force pulled him down. Once below the yellow clouds, the force had disappeared, leaving him to float down to the ground where he landed in front of a sign that read 'CAUTION: do not venture into the Shadowlands!' Glancing around at his surroundings, the young Saiyan took note of this new environment. The ground was an unusual assortment of dark red and black patches and stripes, making it look as if an unholy dark fire was dancing on the ground. It was also uneven with small hills and rugged terrain. Several towering spires and stalactites erupted from the landscape and from beyond the horizon. Directly above himself, Djoukien could see a small strip of yellow clouds. That's where Snake Way was. However the rest of the sky, immediately to the sides of the strip, had a dark blue color with black clouds travelling the realm

"What??? This place isn't Hell…" Djoukien wondered aloud.

The Saiyan took note of whimpering sounds from behind a small hill. He flew over there as stealthily as he could. When he got to the other side, he was surprised to see three people there. One of them was a blue demon, wearing a white t-shirt with equally white shorts. On his shirt was the acronym HFIL 'Home For Infinite Losers', the other name for Hell as Djoukien had learned not too long ago. The demon was sitting down, eyes closed, crouching as much as he could as he held two small children, a boy and a girl, probably eight or nine. They were humanoid in appearance with peculiar coloration. Their skin was a mix of pink and green, a dark blue stripe ran down on each arm after starting at the base of their necks. Their hair was pale and their frail bodies were barely covered by the brown garments they wore. Djoukien was perplexed as he looked at them. The kids were huddled in the arms of the little devil and all three of them had their eyes closed, scared and shaking. After a moment's hesitation, the Saiyan figured it was best to bring them back to reality.

"Hey!" he said loud enough to startle them. Upon hearing him, the frightened kids jumped up and opened their mouths to let out the most high-pitched scream Djoukien had ever heard. He stumbled backwards, falling on his behind.

"Gaaaah!…Aaah…Aaah!…" The Saiyan stammered out with hands on his bleeding ears. The trio facing him had by then realized that they weren't in presence of whatever they were expecting. The kids blushed in embarrassment while the demon rushed to Djoukien.

"Oh man! Sorry 'bout that but the kids are kinda afraid right now and so am I with good reason… Um, you ok?" asked the demon. "Oh, by the way my name is Og."

"Ugh! Smarts… Nice to meet you, I'm Djoukien… please don't talk so loudly." the Saiyan replied while getting up, his hand still to his right ear. He looked on at the three characters facing him. His gaze fell on the children who immediately recoiled from his stare. His eyes widened in surprise then he took on his most sincere smile, a conspicuous broad grin. "Hey, it's ok, little ones. I'm not here to hurt you." The kids ushered closer to Og. "Hmmm, well I guess I still have to wash off some of that mercenary training."

"Don't worry, kids." Og tried to reassure them. "He's here to help us."

The little ones looked at Og then at each other. The boy said something in an alien language to the girl as the two grown-ups looked on. After a rather short exchange, they turned to Djoukien and smiled, taking a small step towards him.

"Alright, they seem to trust me now." Djoukien said content.

"Yeah, now we gotta get outta here, you gotta help us!" Og's voice suddenly took an urgent tone. He pointed to the south. "We can only go one way through the clouds up there and that's going in. So the closest exit from here is over there. Come on." He said as he started walking hurriedly, followed by Djoukien and the kids.

The Saiyan frowned. "What's going on here… what is this place? I know this isn't HFIL."

"Well, this is a lesser known part of Hell, a danger zone that was dubbed The Shadowlands long, long ago. Very few souls inhabit this area. And sometimes, souls stumble in here like these children that I was trying to retrieve…" Og went as he looked at the kids with a slight hint of disapproval. Though they didn't seem to understand too much of the language, they understood his facial expression enough to bow their heads in apology.

"Heh, don't be so hard on them. So what's so special here?"

"No time for that now, I'll explain when we get out of here." Og stated as he started marching off to the north, followed closely by Djoukien and the kids. Almost immediately however, a loud thunderclap sound was heard in the distance, startling them to stop. Djoukien only managed to open his mouth to ask what was going on when more thunderclaps rang closer around them. They were accompanied by beams of light that appeared seemingly out of nowhere to cut the very fabric of the air. It was as if the air in their vicinity was being torn apart in several places at once. The sight frightened Og and the kids to no end and Djoukien had a feeling something bad was taking place.

"Oh no, no!" Og muttered.

"What's going on?" Djoukien demanded as he looked around puzzled. Where the lights had previously appeared, black rifts quickly replaced them. Light wailing and screeching sounds emanated from the rifts. Djoukien felt chills down his spine. Og and the children shook visibly.

"Oh no, this is real bad!" The worker-demon yelled again in a panic.

"Quiet, this is not the time to panic!" Djoukien said, exasperated. "Og, I need to know what's going if I'm to be of any use."

"That's what we're trying to get away from! Those things are portals to another dimension."

"Huh, what kind of dimension?" The Saiyan asked. The shrill wailings became louder and louder until black forms started seeping out from the rifts. At the sight, the children screamed jumped into Og's arms. "What the hell…"

"It's some kind of twisted dimension with different types of demons in them." Og explained, his eyes widening in fear. "They're called Shadowland Creeps. For the past several weeks this place has been acting up, with portals leaking out these monsters more often. We gotta get out of here or we're gone, even you!"

Djoukien watched as one of the black forms stretched outwards followed by another. Soon, an elongated, man-sized chunk had emerged from the portal. The entire form changed shape, growing spindly legs and arms until it look a recognizable form. It looked like a shadowy, ghost-like creature with clawed hands and feet. Glowing eyes searched the environment until they fell on Djoukien's group. The creature opened its mouth to emit a high-pitch shriek. Immediately, other screams followed and more creatures poured out.

"Hmmm, well I won't argue with that. C'mon!" Djoukien said as he gathered the three others in his arms.

The Saiyan immediately flew in the direction Og had indicated as the exit. As they crossed the landscape, they looked on in shock at hundreds of more rifts opening, with as many Creeps seeping out from them. The entire landscape was soon drowned in constant wailings and shrieking.

"So many of them…" Djoukien mused. "What could bring these things out?" His reflection cut short when he was scratched in his shoulder. Djoukien yelped in pain and involuntarily let go of Og and the children.

"WAAHHHHH!" Og cried as he and the kids started to plummet to the ground.

Djoukien turned around to see a Creep behind him with bat-like wings. It's claws dripped with his blood. Angry, he assaulted the creature with a swift punch. His fist tore through the Creep's body and it dropped. Djoukien then dove to the ground. He found the kids relatively unharmed, sitting atop a dazed Og.

"Hey Og, you ok?" Djoukien asked.

"I'm fine." The little demon whined. "My back broke my fall…"

"I can't fight while carrying you guys." Djoukien stated. He quickly noted the hordes of Shadowland Creeps closing the distance between them. "You guys go ahead of me. I'll cover you."

"Huh? You sure?"

"Yes, now don't make me regret this. Go, now!" the Saiyan spat. Obeying silently, Og scooped a child in each of his arms. He looked on at Djoukien for a few seconds, his expression grim. Then he quickly gave a 'thumbs up' before breaking into a run, the kids in tow.

_Much better. Now, to the task at hand. _ Djoukien reflected in his mind before turning to the approaching legion. Dark demons, resounding terrifying shrieks and screams, converged on the lone warrior, most running excitedly, others flying in. Djoukien concentrated his ki in his right hand for several seconds, letting the energy grow until it formed a yellow ball. Finally, he threw the energy ball with all his might into the throws of running creatures. It detonated in the middle of the pack, creating a large ball of fire that engulfed everything in its passage, including the entire army of creatures. The flying ones were also caught in the explosion. When the resulting smoke cloud had cleared, Djoukien saw nothing left of the Creeps but torn and burnt bodies.

"Well so much for that!" Djoukien exclaimed with satisfaction. He smiled for a brief moment when he heard a rumbling sound from his side. He turned to his left to see another mass of demons cresting a ridge and running towards him. "What, more from that direction too?"

The Saiyan fired a barrage of ki blasts at the new group, causing much destruction in their ranks. The dying shrieks of Creeps filled the air to the clouds high above but they came nonetheless in greater numbers still.

"Hell, how many are there?" Djoukien said grimly to himself as he concentrated on keeping his ki barrage. As if to answer his questions, a stabbing pain flared in his lower back. Djoukien winced and turned his head to look at a demon that managed to elude his senses. While he was busy with the second army, a third group had appeared a bit further behind. "Let me go, you filthy thing!" the Saiyan cried as he sent the creature flying back with a sharp elbow.

In a moment's notice, Djoukien was surrounded by hundreds of angry, bloodthirsty demons. He quickly calculated his chance of survival at slim and smirked at them.

"Fine then. But I'm taking a bunch of you with me!" Djoukien yelled and he plunged into the group.

The Saiyan tore a pathway through his opponents. Creatures tasted his hardest punches and kicks, flying back in all directions. His Saiyan instincts in overdrive, Djoukien was in frenzy, knocking over anything in his path. He hadn't unleashed himself like this in a long time and the warrior in him relished the crunching sounds, the dying wails and the fury. Still, the odds were against him. The Creeps clawed and bit at him, aiming at the softer spots in his armour. Their sharp claws and teeth found their marks. His armour being gradually shredded, Djoukien tried his best to shrug off the pain but before soon it was too much. Deep wounds etched on his body, blood flowing freely from them, Djoukien tripped and fell to the ground ahead of him. A demon speared him in his sides and the Saiyan screamed to the stars. Accumulating his remaining ki, he blasted the demon. But then other demons knocked him around. His vision blurry, unable to move, Djoukien was in the arms of his assailants. Their gleeful expressions gave him only a slight idea of the pain he was about to go through.

This is it. This didn't take too long. Hmpf, what a way to end my existence in the next life. Djoukien thought. The demons shrieked loudly and he figured it was the time for their feast. However, as they screamed, Djoukien felt a crushing presence that had suddenly appeared. A ki so massive that he even felt it to every fiber in his body. In an instant it became clear that the demons' screams weren't joy in anticipation of his slaughter but rather fear in anticipation of their own. Swift movements of air in all directions rushed by Djoukien. He briefly contemplated a red streak through his vision. It breezed by at impossible speeds though he couldn't make what it was. Finally, Djoukien was free from the demons completely and, as he fell to the ground, he could hear hundreds of them dying quite vocally. Satisfied that maybe he wouldn't die from these nightmarish creatures, Djoukien, lying on the ground and his body literally on fire from countless wounds, allowed himself to slip into the blissful abyss of unconsciousness. 

END OF PART ONE


	2. Ch 2: Thunderous minds

**QUEST FOR POWER 2:**

CHALLENGE KINGDOM 

By Konrad

PART 2

The two groups stared each other down for a few moments. On one side, the remnants of the Z Squad were still smarting from being caught in a surprise storm. On the other side stood two Kosajin females, looking curiously at the surprise arrivals. Tenshinhan thought carefully about his words.

"Who the heck are you?" the taller, purplish Kosajin asked. Her tail swished back and forth behind her, indicating her displeasure. Her companion looked on from behind her with a questioning gaze.

_Cripes, she looks pissed. Just what we didn't need._ "Sorry. We kinda ran into some trouble landing here, we fell through an electrical storm…"

"I should know, I made that storm. You just happened to interrupt a training session." The lead female retorted.

"Oh! I knew it felt like that storm had ki in it!" Gohan exclaimed as he came to a realisation. "So it was you?"

"Yes, that's right, little boy. The name's Raikou and I'm a mistress of the Lightning element." She announced smugly.

"Well, Raikou, er…" Tenshinhan hesitated. He couldn't imagine how this situation could get worse.

"Listen here, you wench!" Upon hearing Vegeta's bellowing, Tenshinhan gulped. "How dare you go about blasting us out of the sky like that?!"

"First off, how could I have known you were there." Raikou spat back. "Second, for all I know, you could be alien intruders that I should take on immediately. Third…" Raikou's eyes narrowed. "You don't EVER insult me."

"Say that again, wench?!" Vegeta's voice barely came through gritted teeth.

"You're invading my home planet, I ask the questions!" Raikou growled.

_Crap! C'mon, say something, Tenshinhan!_ Tenshinhan panicked, his eyes darting between the Saiyan Prince and the Lightning Kosajin. _But what???_

"Excuse me, ma'am…" Raikou turned her attention to Gohan. "I'm sorry we disrupted you when you were busy but we didn't know what to expect when we came here. We're not here to invade you or anything."

"Raikou-sama, I believe him!" A voice squeaked from the crowd. The second Kosajin female had raised her hand, her face turned away in a fruitless attempt to conceal the taint in her cheeks.

"Is that so, Princess Aurora?" Raikou spoke. She eyed her partner, Aurora, carefully. The younger one nodded her head.

"We didn't think we'd be trespassing." Tenshinhan added in turn finally. "We come as explorers from Jubian space."

Raikou grunted in response, her brow furrowing at the Triclops. Tenshinhan stiffened involuntarily as she eyed him but relaxed when he saw her sigh deeply.

"Well, I don't know anything about weird three-eyed monsters…" Raikou commented. Tenshinhan sweatdropped but the Kosajin ignored it as she was too busy massaging her temple. "Still, I guess I might've been a bit quick to judge."

"Raikou-sama, I know they're strangers but…" Aurora began, shifting her gaze downwards.

"But…?"

"Um, perhaps it'd be polite to welcome them. A-and maybe they can help me, you know." Aurora blurted out quickly. Raikou rolled her eyes.

"Fine! If that's what you want, then have it your way." She sighed wearily. "Very well then, I suppose you could be our guests for a little while…"

Vegeta was about to say something but Tenshinhan swiftly put his hand in front of his mouth, silencing him.

"We're glad for your hospitality. Don't worry, we'll be good guests…right?" All while he spoke, the Triclops' eyes didn't once leave Vegeta's. The two glared at each other almost violently. Unwilling to argue further, Vegeta finally relented after a short moment, turning away in disdain.

"Oh, my ship's badly damaged but I'm the only one here who can't fly!" Yoshuro's chirpy remark came to cut through the poisoned atmosphere.

"You're kidding me?" Raikou commented, shaking her head. "Fine, I'll fly you. We can send for your ship later. The rest of you, follow me."

She wrapped an arm around Yoshuro before slowly lifting into the air. Vegeta let off a frustrated grunt and was the next to fly off. Aurora was about to follow suit when Gohan grabbed her wrist, stopping her. Her face immediately took a deep shade of purple.

"Hey, I just wanted to thank for backing me up a few minutes ago. I really didn't want us to all get into a fight." Gohan said, smiling gently, causing Aurora to grin wildly.

"Oh, um, no problem!" The Kosajin girl replied. "Yeah, I thought the same thing."

"Say, what is it that you need help for?"

"Well I want to reunite my people. I need to become stronger for that though and I need some training help. I'll explain more on our way, if that's ok."

"If you say so."

It was the two teenagers' turn to fly off, together. Tenshinhan watched as the first set of flyers disappeared in the horizon.

"Hey."

The Triclops stiffened at the touch of something warm on his shoulder. He swiftly turned his head and realized he had almost forgotten Android 18. He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He suddenly became aware of the small pearls of sweat that had slid on his worried figure.

"You're tense." She noted, not meeting his eyes. Tenshinhan followed her gaze to where the silhouettes of Gohan and Aurora were disappearing in the sky.

"Yeah, I'm good. I guess that was a little intense…" He paused before turning back to the Android. Her gaze seemed colder than before. "What about you? You okay yourself?"

18's eyes narrowed and her hand gripped tighter at the Triclops' muscles. Tenshinhan mentally restrained himself from flinching at the discomfort. _Why is she staring at Gohan and that girl like that?_

"Yes." She replied dryly. "Yes, I'm fine." She immediately blasted of after all the others. Tenshinhan looked up in puzzlement, questioning his decision to come here. He finally let out a loud sigh.

_It could've been worse…_ Tenshinhan thought.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

_Ugh… figures, when I try to be a hero…_ Djoukien commented to himself. He tried to focus his senses on his surroundings. His body stung all over, the pain dimming slightly from deep gashes. The cold, hard sensation running down his back indicated that he was lying on the ground. The Saiyan grunted loudly, trying to get up.

"Oh, sir! He's waking up!" A gruff voice called out.

_Sir?!_ Before he knew it, a pair of hands helped prop up Djoukien. Seated solidly on the ground, the Saiyan tentatively opened his eyes. In front of him, the worker demon Og grinned broadly. In the horizon, magenta adorned the skyline, meaning they were no longer in the Shadowlands.

"You look like a mess." Og stated chirpily.

"Yeah, thanks." Djoukien mumbled lowly. He suddenly saw two pinkish green blurs dart towards him. Before he knew what happened, the alien kids rushed the Saiyan and tackled. Like lightning, pain swiftly struck his injured sides. "YAAAAHHH!!!"

"Whoa, there! You gotta let go of your 'uncle' Djoukien now, he's in really big pain." Og muttered nervously as he pulled the kids away from the Saiyan. "Hehe, I guess they're happy to see you doing well."

"Um, yeah…owww…" Djoukien moaned.

"Yes. Spunky little ones, don't you think?" A cool voice chided. Djoukien's body tensed, not sure whether his ears were playing tricks on him.

Djoukien slowly turned his head left and he immediately saw that his hearing hadn't lied to him. Ahead of him majestically stood the most powerful of the Cold clan. A tall and toned body awash in a deep red, adorned with ivory armour and matching helm, completed with a muscular reptilian tail that could crush steel with as little as a negligent flick.

Cooler had his arms crossed over his chest. His lips tugged upwards in a smirk, reflecting a pleasure at seeing Djoukien's awe and surprise. The rest of his body language however, with back straight and legs slightly apart, spoke power and nobility. Some would say Cooler had a regal air about him. But to compare him with mere kings would be an insult if he didn't feel it was below him to even care.

"YO, BOSS!!! Yeah, way cool!" Djoukien exclaimed gleefully, jumping in the air and pumping his fist. Cooler sweatdropped, his smirk almost a memory already.

"Er… what?!"

"Cooler Boss, I'm so glad to see you! You're so cool!" Djoukien continued his exhortations, accompanying them with a foot-stomping, fist pumping jig. Visibly amused, the two alien children giggled their approval.

"Kooh-la, Kooh-la!!!" The kids butchered Cooler's name as they started imitating the Saiyan, 'dancing' energetically. Cooler frowned at the spectacle.

"Eh, well I guess they're really glad that you saved us, Sir." Og chuckled nervously. That prompted Djoukien to interrupt his jig.

"Huh? You saved us, Boss?" he asked bewildered.

"Yes…" Cooler sighed.

"You're that red flash I saw saving me?" Djoukien beemed starry-eyed. "Wow, Boss, you totally kick ass!!!" He promptly got back into a jig, hooting and hollering.

"Damnit!" Cooler exploded. He swiftly spun around, his tail sweeping the Saiyan off his feet. Djoukien fell on his butt with a loud thump, causing the children to burst in laughter. "Idiot! And how many times have I told you to stop calling me 'Boss'?! That's annoying!"

"So, um, you know each other?" Og cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.

"Yep!" Djoukien exclaimed as he got up, wiping dirt from his behind. "I used to work in Cooler's army."

"Yes, and you were as promising as you were annoying." Cooler stated, his stoic face returned. "Well, actually you're still annoying, even dead."

"Oy, Boss, you're mean!"

"By the way, whatever the hell happened to you?" Cooler inquired.

"Huh? Oh, well I died!" Djoukien chirped.

"No shit." Cooler sighed. "I meant 'how'."

"Oh, well I fought this Namek and he killed me…"

"Eh, so you went to New Namek?"

"No, no! We were invading the Jubians and then they got helped by these Earthlings, and one of them happened to be a Namek…"

_The Earthlings?!_ Cooler's eyes widened. _Out of all the people, that one…Piccolo. Goku's ilk keep surprising._ "…I see."

"Yeah, a strong bunch. My whole team was wiped out." Djoukien commented.

"I imagine you were on orders from Dudan?" Cooler asked.

"Yep. There was something called the Power Stone that he wanted from the Jubians. So we started this war with them… and then the Earth people came."

_Hmm, didn't Gero say something about Power Stones? This is interesting… Wait, shit! If they all got involved with the Earthlings…_ "Djoukien, what about the others?" The Kosajin added hastily, clenching his fists. "Aurora…???"

"Whoa, Boss!" Djoukien exclaimed, putting his hands in the air. "Remember she's not part of any mercenary army, don't worry!"

"Oh…right." Cooler breathed out. "What about Sulfus and Cerion?"

"I don't know." Djoukien shrugged. "They hadn't fought them yet when I got myself killed. I'm sure they would've done so by now."

"Ah, I see… Then again, while I would never wish death on them, they might've been useful to me here." Cooler mused. "But there's you at least, Djoukien."

"Oh? For what?"

"How would you like to be my subordinate once more?"

"Hooo yeah!" The Saiyan beamed again. "Back in service to the most powerful guy in the universe, yeah! What are we going to do? Become superheroes? Rescue fair maidens in castles faraway? Save cats from trees?"

"…Um, no."

"Oh, so what would we be doing?"

"Quite the opposite." Cooler stated nonchalantly. "Or if you prefer, much of the same we always did. After all, that's what we were made to do, right?" Djoukien's face blanched.

"But we'd be back to… you know…" he mumbled, trying to keep Og from catching on.

"You got a problem with that?" Cooler replied haltingly, his voice lowered and his eyes narrowed abruptly. Djoukien gulped and unconsciously took a small step back.

"Hey, I think I better go!" Og stammered, sensing a chill in the conversation. "I need to get these kids back to their place."

"Hn… Of course. This is as far as I can go without problems." Cooler stated without taking his eyes off Djoukien. "You'll have no problem going to where you need to be, right Og?"

"R-right, Sir!" Og replied as he gathered the two children under his arms. The trio gave concerned glances at the Saiyan as he faced the Kosajin. Djoukien gave them a brief reassuring nod before turning back to Cooler. "T-thanks. And please remember, the both of you saved us together!"

Og scrambled away from the deadly mercenaries, taking the kids away with him. Djoukien lowered his eyes and sighed wearily. Shoulders dropping, his earlier gust of enthusiasm was now already like a fading memory. _I don't want to go back to what I was before. I want to be different._

"Cooler…Sir!" Djoukien started, lifting his head to meet Cooler's oppressing gaze again. "I-I can't go back… not on those terms. Not for the same things. I don't want to be a mercenary no more!" He finished with more reassurance.

"After what you owe me, this would be how you repay me?" Cooler replied quietly, an icy venom almost dripping from his words. "Because you think you can change? Because you think you can oppose me?" Without a trace of emotion, he pointed a finger at Djoukien.

_Trouble again… _ The Saiyan thought grimly.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

Cerion treaded carefully through her ship. Sporting only a simple night robe that looked somewhat dishevelled at this time, she almost stumbled as she finally reached a window. She sat and leaned against it heavily. The Goddess was spent. Her passion was finally satiated while her legs were about as solid as molasses. She ignored the moistness running down her inner thighs. It's been years since she last had someone 'satisfy' her, even if her partners weren't really in a place to refuse.

As the 'Skylight' sped through the heavens, a planetoid streaked across the window's view. The onyx of its surface was deeper than even the blackness of space. Small waves and linings of grey adorned the planet, showing fluctuations and rugged terrain. Pools and rivers of bright orange completed the spherical portrait. Cerion quietly deduced that this was probably an intensely volcanic planet: the pools of orange were certainly lava from the core with the black colouring was probably a result of lava frozen on the surface. This planetoid was fiery and rugged.

_Hmmm, fiery and rugged… _Cerion allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction as she thought of her war companion. The two words kept echoing inside her head and she slowly closed her eyes, hoping that might help her concentrate on other things. Instead, she found that she could only think of the Kosajin even harder now. Not that she minded that much. Cerion's small, almost shy smile turned into a more unbridled grin. She licked her lower lip while her right hand brushed lightly on her leg and hip. Images of Sulfus' bulky frame now dominated her thoughts.

Cerion could almost feel his powerful arms circling around her, bringing their bodies tight together as one, protecting her. As if she actually needed protection. Still the thought appealed to her. _If he's a master of Fire, is his body warmer than others? Would he use his tail like no other can? What do his lips taste like?_ Cerion wondered alternatively. Chills ran along her neckline where she imagined he'd give his loving attentions…

Suddenly, a loud yell and a crashing sound woke Cerion from her daydreaming. She stared at a door for several moments, wondering what's going on. Finally a realisation dawned on her. _Shit! This can't be possible! I never lost my control on anyone in this kind of situation, ever!_ She rushed back towards her quarters, cursing her carelessness. Opening the door, she found what she was expecting but dreading. A blue-skin, naked alien male was sitting on her bed. He sweated profusely and his eyes darted throughout the unfamiliar premises. When he became aware of Cerion, he finally turned to her with a panic-stricken face,

"W-What's going on here? Who the hell are you? Where am I?" The questions came in a quick barrage.

"Quiet you!" Cerion snapped. _How did I let this happen? Probably that daydreaming severed my mental grip…_ "Whatever. Come." She sighed wearily. With nothing more than a reflection of casualness in her expression, Cerion roughly grabbed the man by the neck and literally tossed him out of her room. He landed awkwardly in the cleared middle area of the ship.

"H-Hey! What are you doing? What happened?" The man stammered, desperately scurrying away as the Goddess approached him menacingly.

"Oh well, I suppose it wouldn't make a difference for you to know now, would it?" Cerion mused openly. "Simply put, I used you for my… satisfaction." As she rolled out that last word, her lips curved into a disturbing grin.

"Huh?" the stranger questioned, confused. "I don't get it… I don't remember anything."

"Really? We shared a bed together and you don't remember?" Cerion mocked softly.

"Oh! Er…" the man wondered, wary of the curious glint in the woman's eyes. Nonetheless he figured it best to ignore it. "Sorry if I don't remember, I must've been drunk or something. Um, I hope it was good…" The Goddess' amused chuckling interrupted him.

"Of course, it was good enough. Although I did have to, in a way, show you how to please me. After all how can a total stranger know how I like it?" She replied slyly.

"Ah, well I'm sure you enjoyed it." The man grinned, trying to sound suave now that his ego was boosted. Then he realised that still left an important blank in his mind. "Say, um, can you refresh my memory? How did we meet again?"

"Oh, sure." Cerion said, looking suddenly bored as she pretended to inspect her fingers. "I searched your planet for humanoid males for my needs and when I found you, I brainwashed you with my mental powers and I took you here in my spaceship where I basically had my way with you." She stated casually.

The alien's jaws dropped, his eyes almost coming out his sockets. He promptly fell back on his behind, stumbling away from Cerion's devilish grin.

"Y-You… You mean you…" he stammered, his face looking haggard.

"What I don't understand is how you came out of my mental grip." She wondered aloud, ignoring his expression. "Normally, any man I get should stay under my control until I decide otherwise or I simply dispose of them. But it seems I was distracted earlier, which is strange."

"What?! G-Get away from me!!!" the man screamed and recoiled from Cerion's sight.

"Anyhow, at least you go with the knowledge that you were adequate. You can take that with you." The Goddess stated dismissively.

Gathering a small orb of energy in her now palm, she effortlessly flung it at the hapless man. Before he had time to scream, he was immediately disintegrated by the contained blast. The only sign that someone was previously there was a conspicuous burn mark on the floor. _Well at least that won't be too hard to clean. I still can't believe I lost control though…_ Cerion mused nonchalantly to herself. She proceeded to find some items to clean the mess on the deck and in her room when she came across Sulfus' room, or rather the quarters to which she had confined him. His door was slightly ajar and she could hear his distinct heavy breathing as he slept.

"Baka! This is all your fault!" Cerion hissed.

She quietly pushed his door open a bit more and silently stood there, gazing at Sulfus' body, sprawled all over his bed. Forgetting her mild irritation, she let her eyes trail the contours of his face. She followed the smooth, proud forehead, then she mentally drew lines around the curious but embellishing tusks attached to his helm. Cerion nearly gasped when she peered at his lips, which were trembling slightly from the air passing through them. She briefly pictured those lips pressed to her neck, the thought brining a truly bright smile to her face.

"Damn you…" Cerion whispered as she studied the Kosajin's form appreciatively. "I can never have you."

_Who says you can't?_ Something echoed inside her head. _Isn't he the one you want the most?_

"I can't. He's a mortal, I'm not. I'm not supposed to feel these things." She countered, not bothering to wonder why she was talking to herself.

_But you do. Look at him, isn't he incredible?! Go take him already._

"N-No." Cerion whispered with more vigour. "I want him to love me. Then I'll claim him as mine."

_Tch!_ The voice inside her head mocked._ You think he can love you?! An immortal he can't be with? One who's weak? Who's taken thousands of lives? There's nothing to love there. And besides he's also a mercenary who couldn't care about love. There's only one thing you can do._

"But I want him to lo…" Cerion choked a sob, an unfamiliar stinging sensation coming to her eyes. "He's the only one I care about enough."

So? Accept that he won't care for you. Then just do what you've always done and you'll get what you want anyways.

"What?"

His mind is weak to yours. Simply do as you've always done with males. Mind control him and then make him forget. He doesn't have to remember and you don't need to hurt him. Easy, no? You've done that countless of times before. How hard can it be this time? Only instead of satisfying yourself with the hundreds of losers you've had before, you get the one you want the most!

Cerion shook visibly as she thought about what kind of betrayal that meant. Yet she also wondered how could Sulfus ever like her anyways. If she wanted him, wasn't this the only way? She swallowed a lump in her throat and stared intently at Sulfus. Three decades and she had never approached the man or vice-versa. She didn't want to leave without knowing what it was like to be with him.

Cerion stealthily stepped into the room and approached Sulfus in his bed. Every step taken made her more nervous and she swore her eardrums would burst from the sound of her heartbeat. When she finally made it next to him, it seemed like days had passed to the Goddess. A stabbing pain hit her chest as if to protest against what she was about to do. She had done this hundreds of times with strangers so why should it be different with this one man, even if she felt more strongly to him than any other? She brushed away the doubt.

_Just this once because I can't have you otherwise._ Cerion told herself once more, steeling her nerves. Raising her right hand to his face, she took a deep breath. She gazed momentarily at Sulfus' features, entranced by anticipation. _Just this once…_

Suddenly, her right hand was snatched. Cerion yelped and almost stumbled backwards but was stopped by a powerful tail latching itself around her waist. Abruptly knocked out of her reverie, the Godess looked in horror at Sulfus' cool, awakened face.

"What are you doing?" The Kosajin sternly demanded.


	3. Ch 3: Changing times

**QUEST FOR POWER 2:**

CHALLENGE KINGDOM 

By Konrad

PART 3

"What are you doing?" Sulfus sternly demanded.

Gasping audibly, Cerion stumbled back only to find herself restrained by Sulfus' tail wrapped tight around her waist. She could only stare back at the Kosajin.

"What's going on?" He demanded again, his brow furrowed.

The Goddess opened her mouth to respond but, instead of an intelligible word, all that came from it was a pathetic choking sound. It was Sulfus' turn to be surprised. He abandoned his grip on her wrist and waist.

"Cerion, are you alright? What's wrong?" he asked more softly.

Cerion bit her lip suddenly. Sulfus noticed the moisture climbing up in her eyes, as if the sound of his voice brought her pain. She quickly turned around and, with one arm, leaned against the closest wall.

"I was... going to do something bad. Very bad." she replied flatly, her voice hoarse.

"Huh? What could be that bad?" Sulfus lightly mocked. His small grin disappeared when he saw her stiffen at his approach. _What was she about to do? And she'd feel guilty enough to try to wake me up to talk about it?_ He reasoned. "Well, whatever it is, I can never think bad of you. I trust you."

"R-Really? You don't hate me after what happened with the Power Stone?" Cerion replied, whipping her head around to face Sulfus. The Kosajin held a breath when he saw streams of tears run down her cheeks.

"I would always stand by you." he stated softly. To that, Cerion drew a big breath and wiped away her tears.

"Eh, stupid tears." she said, her voice back to neutral. It was Sulfus' turn to sigh in relief.

"Yeah, now let's relax as we head to my home planet." Sulfus chuckled as he took a step towards the door. He stopped momentarily. "I always wanted to show you my home."

Sulfus left without turning around to see Cerion's blush. It was just as well, his face reddened too.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"I won't repeat this, Djoukien. Join me." Cooler stated, his finger pointing directly at the Saiyan in front of him.

"But, Boss!" Djoukien pleaded. "You don't have to do this."

"I wouldn't have to do this if you just went with it. So let's do this the hard way, shall we?" Cooler retorted.

With that, a beam of energy shot forth from his fingertip. Djoukien barely managed to dodge it with a roll to his left. The blast erupted behind him, hurling chunks of rock at great speed. _Shit, is he serious?_

"I don't want to fight you!" Djoukien yelled out as he charged the Kosajin, avoiding several more blasts aimed at him.

"Then perhaps you shouldn't…" Cooler started as he swung his arm at the Saiyan. Instead, he found nothing but air. "What?!"

He automatically raised his other arm behind his head in defence, barely parrying a kick to his head. He spun to swing again but Djoukien had already blurred past him once more.

"Amazing, you're even faster than before!" Cooler said aloud in wonderment, struggling to keep up with the Saiyan's speed. He then chuckled. "Well, not that it matters…"

Djoukien alternately flew and spun above Cooler's head. Catching the Kosajin off-guard by appearing ahead of him, he nailed him with a kick to the face. Cooler stumbled backwards slightly only to regain his composure in an instant. _Damnit, I didn't affect him more than that?!_ Djoukien cursed mentally as he landed on his feet. Immediately he charged at Cooler again.

Cooler threw a punch Djoukien but the incoming Saiyan ducked and spun rapidly underneath his arm. Djoukien extended his own arm into a punch, successfully connecting with the Kosajin's chin. _There! That should open him… What the…?!_ Cooler's tail quickly wrapped itself around Djoukien's neck, abruptly putting a stop to his offensive as well as his forward movement. The Saiyan gagged violently and gasped, trying in vain to free himself. Instead he found himself lifted in the air by a smirking Cooler before being brutally slammed into the ground.

"Well, you've gotten stronger then I remember. You could be a useful lieutenant just like back in the days. I really would regret killing you."

"Doesn't look like I can do much to stop that though, huh?" Djoukien stammered as he struggled to get up. Cooler's smirk was replaced by a frown.

"I despise theatrics and drama. Still, use your sense of honour and logic. Tell me again, child, what do you owe me?" Djoukien didn't respond, he simply stared at the imposing Kosajin. "Djoukien!" Cooler growled. The Saiyan sighed and stood up fully. He locked his gaze with Cooler's for a few moments, seeing if he could return his cold stare, but he finally gave up, lowering his eyes solemnly.

"You… You took a few dozen Saiyans away into safety before your brother could kill them. You saved my people… including the folks who would later become my parents." Djoukien finally responded, downtrodden.

"So you see, you and your people owe me your lives." Cooler pointed out plainly. "Is that not enough to get your loyalty?"

"Yes, it is!" Djoukien hastily added. "But… but it's not just that, Boss."

"Oh? Then explain."

"Well, all my life I've been a mercenary for you and your buddy Dudan and it was great and stuff. But now that I'm dead, I want to do things differently. The killing thing… well, I did it for you guys, but I guess I just want to try something else. Things are different now…" Djoukien's musings were interrupted by Cooler's scoffing.

"What's so different about death from life now that you've experienced it?" Cooler questioned. "Aren't we the same as before?! I am the same Cooler in death as in life. Look around you, everyone who died merely go on to a 'second life' here where everything is the same."

"No!" Djoukien countered. "Not everything is the same. If we die in the afterlife, then there's nothing left. This is the last chance we get to make something right. Maybe I should've seen this before… but I don't know why we should do the same things this time around. Things are different and maybe we should be different too!"

"But there is no difference." Cooler hissed. "This isn't some fairy tale where you can magically wish for good. Our lives are set early and that's how it goes."

"So you're telling me that if I died here against the demons, it wouldn't have made a difference?"

"Of course not! I only rescued you for the same reason I rescued your parents long ago. Because you could be useful to me as a subordinate."

_If that's so and you really didn't change, then why did you bother rescuing the kids too?_ Djoukien mused.

"I suppose I can't be your subordinate anymore as I don't want to be a mercenary no longer." Djoukien stated. Cooler's eyes widened briefly before narrowing again, as if the Cold Prince would rather slit his own tongue than admit to being shocked.

"Very well then." Cooler replied. "If you won't join me, then I won't let you live."

With that, Cooler charged up his power. Djoukien wondered what the Kosajin was going to do when a frost hit his skin. _What the hell? Did the temperature just drop?!_ Djoukien thought as he looked around nervously, a cold abruptly settling in on the area. He brought back his attention to his former Boss, who was now surrounded in a hazy blue aura that flowed all over his body like water. The cold seemed to emanate from him. Djoukien closed his eyes shut tight. _This time I'm a goner for sure…_

Shrill infantile screams came to Djoukien's ears, surprising him. That certainly couldn't be Cooler attacking. He opened his eyes to find the pinkish green boy he had rescued earlier standing in front of him, staring defiantly at Cooler, both arms extended as if to prevent passage to the Saiyan. Djoukien looked up to notice that the boy's sister had latched on to the legs of a stunned Cooler. Meanwhile, the demon-worker Og was looking on nervously from the side.

"W-what is this? Didn't I tell you to get out of here along with these brats?" Cooler yelled, furious.

"I-I'm really sorry, S-sir." Og stammered before swallowing. "But these kids insist on Djoukien living… and me too!"

"If you wish to forfeit your life…" Cooler growled menacingly.

"Og, get the hell out of here!" Djoukien yelled frantically. "Tell the kids I'm fine or something but for Kami's sake, don't get hurt in this!"

"I can't! Well, they just knew something was wrong and they'd never believe it. They won't let you two kill each other… and I won't either!"

"Stupidity. And I bothered to rescue you!" Cooler hissed, raising a hand towards Og.

"KOOH-LA!!!" The desperate girl at Cooler's legs screamed drawing his attention back to her. Her eyes were sparkling with wetness, her tiny lips trembling as she pleaded with the Kosajin in the only way she could communicate with him.

"Blasted child!" Cooler cursed loudly as his arms twitched slightly.

"KOOH-LA! Kooh-La! Kooh-La…" the girl continued with a lowering voice until unable to hold it anymore, she started to cry freely.

"Damnit…" Cooler muttered. He dropped his arm and sighed heavily. After a moment, he finally picked the girl up and brought her to his face. She stopped sobbing long enough to return his gaze, an inquisitive expression on her face. "You're a pest, you know. But anyways… Djoukien!"

"Eh?" Djoukien replied confused. He couldn't believe his eyes but it looked as if Cooler lost the murderous glare he had a moment ago. _Could it be that he's back to having a stick up his butt as usual?_

"Take Og and these brats away. And this time make a complete job of it." Cooler stated.

"You mean it, Boss?!" Djoukien almost yelled, relieved.

"Sir?" Og called out to be sure.

"Yes!" The Kosajin bellowed. "Now go before I regret this." He looked at the girl who kept a curious expression on her face, questioning him silently. When Cooler nodded solemnly, she erupted in a beaming smile and flung her arms around his neck.

"KOOH-LA!!!" She jubilated. Her brother pumped his fists also and jumped in the air.

"Whatever. Just leave."

Smiling, Djoukien gathered Og and the kids in his arms, hopefully for the last time today.

"One last thing." Cooler stated. "I'll let you follow whatever path you choose. But if it brings you to interfere in my own plans, then I will kill you without hesitation next time. And while I would like to believe like you that things change, I'm afraid it's not that simple."

"I think it can be. But anyways, thanks for everything, Boss." Djoukien replied, smiling, before taking off. _Things change… you can change too, Boss._

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Damnit, where the hell is he?! BRAT!!!" An irritated Saiyan Prince called out loudly.

The polished walls of Raikou's two-storey villa echoed Vegeta's voice tremendously well, carrying it throughout the opulent building. Around the corner of one of those walls, Yoshuro hid in fear for his health.

"I need someone to spar with!" Vegeta continued yelling, unaware of the Jubian's presence. He disappeared behind a corner.

"Oh man, if he has to use me as a training bag again, I won't live." Yoshuro mumbled nervously as he peered from his hiding place. "Where the hell are Gohan and 18 when you need them?!"

"Hey you!"

Yoshuro couldn't help but emit a small yelp. Cautiously and slowly, he turned his head around. There standing behind him was Vegeta. The Saiyan's eyes were open wide as he practically bore his gaze into the nervous Jubian.

"You there! I want to train and I need a punching bag." Vegeta stated simply.

With a loud undignified scream, Yoshuro jumped to his feet and sprinted away from the Prince. Unfazed, Vegeta immediately gave chase.

"Get back here! I will not be deterred from my training!" He yelled.

"Are you out of your mind?!" a panicked Yoshuro retorted. "I'm not a good fighter. Heck, I'm not a fighter period! I don't want to spar with you, get away from me!!!"

The two men darted through Raikou's rural mansion. If they cared, they probably would've stopped to admire its attractiveness as they ran by. The insides of the mansion were almost exclusively covered in shining marble. The walls, the floors and the ceilings, polished to perfection, resembled intricately decorated mirrors. Frescoes of twisting vines, exotic flowers and strange wildlife adorned every room and chamber, accompanied by numerous lavish paintings and sculptures.

Not that either Vegeta or Yoshuro could be bothered to bask in their surroundings at the moment as they raced throughout the villa. The Jubian almost ran into a wall as he was finally cornered, out of breath.

"Ha! Now then..." A satisfied Vegeta spoke as he approached a panic-stricken Yoshuro.

"I don't want to be a punching bag again!" The Jubian whined.

"Don't be such a wuss, I won't kill you!"

"Vegeta, come on! Stop harassing the poor man." A woman's voice called out.

Vegeta cringed and turned to see Raikou and Tenshinhan approaching. The Saiyan's attention distracted, Yoshuro took the opportunity to dart off.

"Damnit!" Vegeta cursed.

"This is the second time in two days we've caught you trying to 'spar' with Yoshuro." Tenshinhan chided.

"So what?! Without Kakalotto's brat around, he's the only one available to train with." Vegeta countered.

"What the hell are you talking about?! He's a civilian, you can train with me or Tenshinhan." Raikou observed.

"I don't know you well enough. And I hate 'Three-Eyes'." The Prince growled, to the Triclops' irritation.

"Yeah, I love you too, shorty." Tenshinhan mumbled under his breath. _How did Goku and Piccolo ever manage to keep this bastard in line?_

"Where the hell is the brat anyways? And the Android for that matter?" Vegeta vociferated as he stormed out, with Tenshinhan and Raikou closely behind.

"What?! They've been out since yesterday with Aurora to help her unite this planet. Don't you remember what Raikou told us?" Tenshinhan replied.

"How could I remember something like that?! I'm too busy training and looking for clues about the Saiyans." The Prince grunted his disdain.

"Yes, you've been doing a lot of searching in the four days you've been here." Raikou said, her voice drowning in sarcasm.

"So what is it that Gohan and the Android are doing with that girl anyways?" Vegeta inquired, half-bored. He settled for resting and loitering on a porch overlooking the backyard of Raikou's posh residence. Isolated as it was, large plains stretched out as far as the eye could see, with sparse woodlands and hills in the horizon.

"I don't want to repeat the same things!" Raikou whined.

"So, um, the Kosajin are divided into, um, Clans…" Tenshinhan started.

"The Ice, like King Cold and his children for instance, the Lightning, such as myself." Raikou added as she nonchalantly inspected her hand. "Then there's the Fire, the Wood, the Water, the Ground and the Wind clans."

"Right, right. An incredibly powerful Kosajin can actually use the element he or she was born in. Like Raikou here use lightning attacks as a weapon, like when she nearly blew up our ship."

"Yes, I remember that swell time." Vegeta snorted sarcastically.

"There are legends concerning our origins." Raikou said. She smiled with contemptuous satisfaction at her polished fingernails. "It is said that our ancestors, the original Kosajin… the very, very first ones, that is… had the powers of all of the elements. Then they had descendants and the powers were spread amongst them, then the clan division followed."

"So what does this have to do with Gohan and that brat partner of yours?" Vegeta asked.

"Watch your mouth." Raikou hissed with a glare aimed at the Saiyan.

"The Kosajin are very aristocratic, Vegeta." Tenshinhan added. "Each clan is ruled by hereditary lords and families."

"My people have at times been united, sometimes divided, with war and peace interchanging regardless of the political situation. Then a chance at real, permanent unity happened." The Kosajin said, once again finding her fingernails interesting.

"After a few marriages between the leading families, King Cold was born with the bloodline of over half the leading families. Then he married a Fire princess, Vulcania, with also about half the bloodlines. Together, they had the legitimacy to unite the clans permanently, since their kids would have all the ruling bloodlines together in them." The Triclops continued.

"Except King Cold, Vulcania and two of their kids, Cooler and Freezer are dead. So the only one left that can unite the clans now is Aurora. Not only that but King Cold having been an… unworthy ruler, the other clans probably aren't going to trust Aurora upfront. So this will be difficult." Raikou sighed heavily.

"Well, thank you for the political lesson." Vegeta growled. "Now if you'll excuse, I got things to do!"

"Like finding some long lost Saiyans?" Raikou mocked lightly.

"Would you happen to know anything about that, Raikou?" Tenshinhan inquired.

"I can handle this my damn self!" Vegeta snapped.

"No, I've never heard of Saiyans alive." Raikou responded. "But then again, if that were remotely true, it's not a surprise. After all, if anyone else knew, Freezer would've known so I'm betting Sulfus kept it as a deep secret."

"This barely helps." Vegeta commented before turning to leave.

"Vegeta." Tenshinhan called out before pausing, considering his words carefully. _What should I say? I don't have any authority over him… _"It's not good to me if you are dead." He finally finished.

"Like something here could possibly kill me." The Saiyan Prince boasted, half smirking but also half smiling at the friendly warning. "Whatever, I'll see you later." He blasted off, leaving The Triclops and the Kosajin alone.

"Why do you concern yourself with him?" Raikou asked.

Tenshinhan opened his mouth but paused, unsure. _Was it Goku? Piccolo? How'd they do it?_ Raikou merely smiled back.

"Whatever, you're too nice, taking on responsibilities like that." She said. "Maybe you should be more like me and not care as much."

"But then again, if you don't care as much, wouldn't make you unreliable or untrustworthy?" The Triclops replied, frowning.

"Why, you're saying you don't trust me?" Raikou grinned as if daring Tenshinhan to question her. The Triclops nervously shook his head, eliciting a hearty laugh from the female.

_What a weird one._ Tenshinhan thought.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Well, what do you think?" Sulfus started, smirking proudly.

Cerion nodded in response, gazing at the vista from the window of the modest apartment they rented in Burning City. Really more of an overgrown village, or a small town, Kosajin of various sizes and colours buzzed around one of the main markets. Unlike some of the other towns of the other Clans, those in the Fire Land rarely had visitors from other species, or even from the other Clans. The towering volcano in the horizon and the gashes across the body of the land made sure of that, radiating intense heat and spewing sulphur into the atmosphere. Not that those with the dominating Fire genes minded so much.

"It's a bit minimalist, I know, but for now this would do." Sulfus said of the spartan furnishing of his new residence.

"This is good." Cerion smiled reassuringly. "I've always wanted to visit your home." _Did he just blush?_

"Yes, well with all my space faring, I no longer have a real home. Or anything to do for that matter…" The Kosajin muttered the last sentence as he painfully realized

"No matter, Sulfus. You'll find something to suit your skills. For the while though, you could use the downtime. Besides, I'm here to help."

"What? If it's about what happened with the Earthlings, you don't have to…"

"I'm here because I want to be here. I could never leave you." Cerion's voice dropped to almost a whisper as she approached the strong Kosajin.

"Oh… I guess we've known each other for a while, eh?" Sulfus breathed hoarsely as the Goddess put an arm on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but not well en…" Cerion paused with her lips parted. A look of puzzlement crossed her face, barely missed by the Kosajin.

"I suppose thirty years is not long for a goddess." Sulfus mock-pouted.

"Hmmm? Oh, right…" _What the hell was that? The Earthlings?! _"Well, get your rest and start looking for something to do. I'm just gonna go out for a little bit…"

"You sure?" Sulfus quizzed, slightly disappointed.

"As I always am." Cerion smiled as she exited the small apartment. _After all that we've been through and you've forgiven me …_

Once outside, Cerion breathed the lightly sulphurous air. She quickly veiled her face with a headscarf like any foreigner to the region would, even as native Fire Kosajin breathed comfortably. The town buzzed with life, busy people constantly bumping into each other. An elder almost crashed into Cerion, excusing himself, but the woman merely grumbled her acknowledgment as she barrelled into the living mass to avoid drawing unwanted attention.

_I could never leave you, Sulfus but for now I must go… _Cerion almost hissed to herself. _It's unmistakable! That ki I felt earlier is that brat, Son Gohan. He's here, on this planet, with his Earthling friends… and another Godling?!_

END OF PART THREE


	4. Ch 4: Champions of Kosajin

**QUEST FOR POWER 2:**

CHALLENGE KINGDOM 

By Konrad

PART 4

_I hardly know him. But he's helping me so much._ Aurora thought as she looked at Gohan. _Ah crap, why am I here again? I can't do this!_

Gohan and Android 18 meanwhile studied their surroundings. Or rather what little they could see. The trio was engulfed in almost complete blackness. All they could make out around themselves was a solid tiled floor beneath them.

"Hello? Anybody there?" Gohan called out to a deafening silence only to be cut by his own echo. "Hey, are you guys going to ambush us or what?!"

"Really, Gohan!" 18 chided. "If someone wants to ambush us, would they answer that stupid question?"

"Well why not?"

"Because that would defeat the purpose of an ambush, don't you think?!"

"Well, maybe they're nice ambushers?" Gohan responded incredulously. "You know how in cartoons the bad guys surprise the good guys and then they spend a half hour explaining to the good guys their entire plan before they try to actually beat the good guys? It doesn't hurt to call them if that's what they're planning to do, right?"

"You baka! This isn't some stupid anime or a manga, you know!" 18 yelled back, her face flustered.

"Oh, right!" Gohan grinned broadly and put a hand behind his head.

It never ceased to amaze Aurora and 18 how honestly naïve the boy could be.

"Besides, fighting's not why we're here." 18 remarked, scoffing. "It's just for talks, right? Though I wouldn't mind a brawl or two…"

_Is she always so pissed off?_ Aurora wondered. She didn't have more time to ponder that thought when a brusque flash of light blinded them. The trio shielded their eyes while a female voice called out to them.

"Sorry we're late. We had a late arrival." The voice spoke. "On the plus side, it did give us time to study you a bit the whole time you were. And no, we're not going to ambush you."

"Well that's good to know." 18 grunted as her vision recovered from the sudden brightness.

"Oh, you're…?" Aurora inquired as Gohan and her also recovered their sight.

"Yes, it's us."

They could now see that they were standing all along inside of a large arena. It was almost completely empty except for a handful of Kosajin facing them, four to be exact.

Slightly ahead of the others stood the only female. She was tall, with a dark blue body adorned with fine white marking and dots. Pupil-less eyes almost froze the trio if they hadn't recalled their poise and training. The female's three male comrades were only slightly less intimidating. One was astonishingly bulky and coloured brown. Another had an average disposition for a warrior and was coloured light blue. His glare was still menacing however. Finally, the last one didn't seem to look at the trio as negatively as the others. If anything, the turquoise, young and charismatic-looking Kosajin exuded a friendly neutrality.

_Wow, he must be as good-looking as Gohan. How old is he?_ Aurora thought of the turquoise Kosajin. _Oh crap, what am I thinking?! Oh shit, he's looking!_ She blushed deeply and lowered her head slightly.

"Er… umm…" Aurora mumbled.

"Let's introduce ourselves before there's any confusion. As you might've guessed, I am Nautikaa, Princess of the Water Kosajin." The female of the group spoke.

"Blok, the rock-solid foundation of the Ground clan!" boasted the brown one.

"Eh, can't ever miss a chance for silly talk, Blok?" The turquoise one chided amusingly before introducing himself and the remaining Kosajin. "I'm Typhoon and this is Tempest, my cousin. We're from the Wind clan."

"We're missing representatives from the Wood and Lightning clans. But since this meeting's been arranged by Raikou, I assume you at least represent the latter." Tempest spoke. "Only the problematic Fire weren't contacted, but we'll see about that."

"An honour to meet you all!" Gohan beamed politely. "I'm Son Gohan from Earth."

"Android 18. You can call me 18. Same here." 18 responded non-enthusiastically.

"If you don't mind, we'd like to confirm the reason why you're here." Nautikaa spoke. All heads turned to Aurora.

"Erm, I… I…" Aurora started but wilted under all the gazes.

"She's here to help unite your planet and your people!" Gohan mercifully piped up.

"That much we know." Nautikaa replied before turning her gaze again to the young girl. "But we want to know what makes you think you're worthy of ruling all of us."

Aurora swallowed an invisible lump and couldn't help but look down to avoid meeting Nautikaa or anyone else's eyes. Unsure of her ambition, she silently questioned what she could accomplish. _If my brother was still here… _The discussion carried on around her nonetheless.

"We tried to reunite under your father, King Cold." Blok said. "And he ended up being nothing but trash!"

"She's not like her father. In fact she's not her father!" Gohan protested in defense of the young girl. "She's with Raikou of the Lightning clan and you know her well enough to have allowed us here, right? Look, it doesn't matter who leads the Kosajin, though she does have all the ruling bloodlines. The important thing is for your people to be united in peace, not by making one surrender to the other by force!"

"Well said, young Gohan." Typhoon replied, to the trio's temporary relief. "But still we cannot merely take your word for it just like that, unless the Princess has nothing else to say."

"You don't mind if we perform a challenge to test the Princess?" Nautikaa inquired.

"No, not all!" Gohan chirped.

"Let's get it started then." 18 said with haste. "I hate waiting. What's the challenge?"

Without warning, Blok jumped down from where he was standing into the middle of the arena. As he touched down, his skin turned composition to take a rock-like appearance. Aurora, Gohan and 18 took a step back, startled.

_Oh no…_ Aurora thought. Blok smirked.

"The challenge is me!"

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

_I hardly know him but can he really stay this moody? This is annoying!_ Raikou thought of the Triclops walking beside her. The cool nighttime temperature in Surge City made for a pleasant walk, if a bit dull. The big town, in whose outskirts Raikou normally lived, was itself almost ready to go to sleep as the streets emptied themselves of the few people still remaining outdoors.

_Hmmm, whatever. Time to cheer him up maybe._ "Think it was a good idea to leave your friend alone to wander?" She inquired, eliciting a slight growl from her current companion.

"Vegeta's an ally. Not quite the same thing as a friend." Tenshinhan responded cooly. "With his attitude he probably needed some alone time anyways."

"So you think that was wise?" Raikou asked again. But unfortunately, the Triclops completely missed the slight joking tone in her voice.

"I don't know if any decision is wise." Tenshinhan almost whispered softly, his head downcast. "I don't know if we should've let Gohan and 18 go help Aurora. I don't know if we should've even come here in the first place!"

Raikou immediately lost her playful disposition. _Well, that's very nice to know!_ She chided in her head so intensely, she could've almost sworn Tenshinhan heard her. Which she wanted. But the Human seemed completely clueless to any communication.

"Hmmm... Tell me about those guys... Goku and Piccolo, isn't it?" _I think I know his problem._ Tenshinhan abruptly lifted his head to the dark sky.

"They were the greatest." He responded with a small smile.

"And can you tell me a bit more about them?"

"Besides what I told you before? Well, whenever they were around, it felt like things would be alright." The Triclops started, a modest smile growing on his face as he started to recall past fights. "Goku and Piccolo would be there to push and pull us forward when we were too scared to do anything. Goku had all the strength and he had a determination like no one else to overcome the odds. Piccolo commanded respect, and not simply because we were once afraid of him. When even one of them was there, you could believe that anything was possible. And even when things turned for the worst, you'd never regret fighting alongside them." Tenshinhan raved, bringing back all the memories of battles won and lost.

"I see..." Raikou said more to herself than to Tenshinhan. _Bingo, that must be it!_ "And now that they're both gone...?"

"I don't know what we could do without them." Tenshinhan sighed. "They always kept us together. They led us. None of us now are capable of that. Not me, not Gohan, certainly not Vegeta. It worries me to death. There's simply no one who..."

"Well I think you're wrong." Raikou stated brusquely, surprising the Triclops as much by her tone as by her assertion. "But you're just too busy feeling sorry for yourself and for the others and being afraid of the future to think clearly!"

"Oh, um, sorry…" Tenshinhan sheepishly apologized.

_There he goes again!_ "There you go again!" Raikou yelled, fuming at the human. "Seriously, Tenshinhan, just stop mopping around so much!"

"Oh, ok…" The Triclops replied meekly.

"Maybe we could talk a little while the others are busy." Raikou contemplated, her anger simmering down.

They continued walking in silence, Surge City decidedly down for the night. But the pair would rather clear their heads and idly enjoy the calming quiet. Suddenly, Raikou stiffened as a thought crossed her mind.

_Oh no, how could I have forgotten that?! I must be certain!_ The Kosajin turned to look at Tenshinhan who was obliviously laying his eyes on the surroundings. The distraction was all Raikou needed. She swooped her hand over his head and, before he knew it, poked the Triclops in his third eye.

"WAAAAAHHHH!" Tenshinhan keeled over, his hands protecting his eye. "What the hell?!"

"Oh my…" Raikou muttered, stunned livid.

"OWWWWW! Oh Kami, that freaking hurts!" Tenshinhan screamed at the top of his lungs. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Well I wasn't certain if it was real…" Raikou answered, blushing.

"What do you mean you wasn't certain if it was real?! Of course, it's real! You're crazy, you're a bloody crazy bitch!" Tenshinhan raged.

"Hey, what'd you expect me to say?! 'Hey mister, is that a real eye? Can I touch it?' I never saw someone with a third eye before, you know!" Raikou scoffed, she putting her hands on her hips.

"Well you don't see me going around yanking at your tail to see if it reals, now do you?!" Tenshinhan replied, causing the Kosajin to protectively wrap her appendage around herself.

"If you even think about that, I'll put you in so much pain…" She threatened, eyes narrowed.

"Oh yeah, like you didn't do enough of that…" Tenshinhan countered as he angrily stormed ahead of Raikou, all the while muttering infinite obscenities about how he was going to catch her tail one day, heaven help her.

"A real eye…" Raikou wondered out loud. "Wow, I never would've imagined!"

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Gah, what am I doing? Come on, I can do this!" Sulfus said to himself, standing in front the meeting place, the 'Wet Salamander'.

Swallowing a small lump, Sulfus pushed the bar's door open, barrelling his way in, to reveal a bustling crowd. He blinked twice until he remembered that he no longer was in deep space. Spaceport bars, serving as waypoints between on nearly infinity long routes, were a quiet, almost depressing experience. There were exceptions, like when a really big ship came in but that was more or less the extent of the atmosphere. Sulfus never got into the habit of visiting many planets, save when it was time for a conquest. Here though, on a particularly rich, inhabited world, you probably couldn't hear a hurricane outside the door.

From one wall to the other, the patrons squeezed as well as anyone could within reason. Kosajin of mostly the Fire Clan made up the biggest amount of people, which was to be expected in Burning City. In this relatively calm period in Clan warfare though, many others congregated here, even from officially hostile Clans. A good number of aliens of all stripes were also mixing in easily with the chitter chatter of the crowds. And to the barmaids, balancing drinks and glasses while collecting tips, weaving through a mass of flesh and dodging lecherous hands was no longer just a skill; it was an art. Sulfus found a spot free at the bar, though it was next to a barely conscious lout who promptly hailed the Fire wielder as 'my bestest best friend ever!'

"I hardly know you, guy." Sulfus said dismissively.

Eyes furrowed, the Kosajin downed a couple of mugs while glancing around for the reason he came here. He sighed and his tail swished almost non-chalantly behind him. Unexpectedly however, his eyes stopped at the back of someone else's head. That person, probably a man, seemed to indulge alone in a pitcher of beer. More curiously, a set of jet-black, spiky hair pointed skyward. This time, Sulfus' tail twitched and he wondered what could cause this reaction in himself.

"Mr Sulfus! Sorry to keep you waiting." someone hollered.

At the sound of his name, the Fire Kosajin turned to see another Kosajin man approach him. Given the crowd, the call had to be loud so it could be heard.

"Ah! Ummm, no problem." Sulfus greeted the new arrival, while sending a distracted glance to the spiky-haired man.

The man's head and back had risen, even stiffened visibly and Sulfus wondered if that was the result of hearing his name. _Why do I feel like there's something familiar? Nah, lots of noise here and people talking. Must be a coincidence._ Brushing aside all those thoughts, Sulfus concentrated on his current meeting, which was more important.

Since they had already done a formal interview that went well, the man wanted this informal meeting to quickly go over Sulfus' past and qualifications.

"Now, from the first interview, I remember you said you never involved in any military operation, government or mercenary or otherwise." The interviewer stated as he studied Sulfus' files.

"That's absolutely correct." Sulfus grinned.

"And you piloted the ship 'Skylight' with over 200 crew…"

"Indeed." Sulfus stifled an even wider grin, contenting himself with a courteous smile this time.

"I knew you were perfect!" The interviewer crowed. "Now like I said, the assignment is on the space station Orion for the Fire Clan government. You'll start mid-rank of course since you're new but with your credentials, I'm sure you can move quickly."

"That's very well by me!"

"Great, I'll take you there immediately so you can get a feel for it. But first, a small toast!"

After a few celebratory drinks, the two men left the bar, with none more pleased than Sulfus. Adjusting to a civilian life sent a chill down his spine, yet he glowed at the prospect of a more normal life after all the mercenary work. The thought immediately brought up Cerion to the fore of his mind. Goddess or not, Sulfus wondered about sharing the good news and more with her.

_Maybe… she could stay… Alright, I must not get ahead of myself!_ He steeled himself inside but still beamed about seeing her after his first stint on the Orion. At least she'd boast about her counterfeiting skills and their role in his landing a job.

Meanwhile, Sulfus didn't notice that the spiky-haired man from earlier had also left the bar quietly.

END OF PART FOUR


	5. Ch 5: The Hit

**QUEST FOR POWER 2:**

CHALLENGE KINGDOM 

By Konrad

PART 5

The always interminable walkabout seemed longer today for the man in the red mask. His name is Reaper and right now he griped his hallberd tightly, fearing the consequences on his head if he used it on anyone who got on his nerves. _Now matter how much they'd deserve it..._ He mused, a worried brow marking his features. he currently barreled past anyone in his way on the walkway. It was the main path in the vast complex of the Shintaisei Gods. Sitting in an inter-dimensional void, unseen from the normal universe, a chain of suspended buildings was interconnected by multiple pathways.

Reaper could've easily admired the view had he chosen. After all, he was thouroughly accustomed to it a long time ago. The Shintaisei's domain seemed to look down on the cosmos, simultaneously astride in two dimensions. On either side of the wide walkway, above and all around Reaper was space. From this vantage view, thousands of stars, nebulae and planets could be seen, as well as all the galaxies. If one watched patiently enough, you could currently watch a sun being born. That would take several lifetimes to appreciate but then again, the Shintaisei were Gods after all. Time would always be on their side.

Reaper had seen all of this before. It never really mattered to him that much in the first place to watch comets whiz by. It did help kill time to watch, though. Since the end of the God War decades ago and the scattering of the Power Stones, things have grown fairly quiet.

_So what's the urgency of this mission now?_ Reaper thought to himself. He frowned briefly under the mask, before noticing a presence up ahead. Another man, hidden in the shadow, stood by a column but Reaper didn't bother to acknowledge him as he walked by.

"Reaper." The other man called out after a short moment.

Reaper stopped. He clenched his fists briefly before taking a deep, slow breath.

"Khas Nahim. What is it?" He stated with barely a glance back. A pair of small devilish eyes, framed by a skinny, almost skeletal blue face, stared back at him with a hint of mocking amusement.

"Nothing much, it's just that you seem... tense." Khas Nahim ridiculed lightly. "I'm guessing our Lords want you for something important."

"Indeed, that is where I'm heading. So I must get going."

"Perhaps it might be something to do with Lord Ryuko's daughter." Khas Nahim continued, ignoring the tone of the voice. "It's been over a decade since she left. You were close with Princess Cer-..."

"I must go see our Lords right away. Good day, Khas Nahim!" Reaper almost growled. He immediately walked off quickly, once again ignoring the man hidden in the shadows.

"Yes, I'm sure our wise Lords know what they're doing. After all, they are mighty and wise!" Khas Nahim laughed as Reaper walked away.

_If he wasn't so close to the Lords..._ Reaper briefly pondered before a thought occurred to him. It was true that he hadn't seen that woman in many years. Somehow he had couldn't shake her off his mind since he was summoned for this request.

Reaper arrived at the great gates of the hall where he was promptly ushered in by pair of guards. Once he entered, the gates noisily and slowly closed behind him. At the other end of the hall, five men sat on giant thrones, their faces obscured by dark cloaks.

"Ah, glad to have you in such short notice. As to be expected." One of the cloaked figures spoke.

"Yes, Lord Ryuko. What is your request?" Reaper replied.

"As you are well aware, we as Immortals of the Shintaisei have taken many steps over long decades and even centuries to bring the entire universe within our lordship. To make all feel our presence." Ryuko continued.

"The great strife and sacrifices of the past are behind us. Most of the gods with the Chuu gene have been enlisted in the Shintaisei… or eliminated." Another one said.

"And we will continue to act behind the veils. Pulling the strings of the universe to our will, subverting any would-be opponents until the time is right. Then we shall come out and all will bow to us!" Boasted a third.

"Your lordship is great!" Reaper added. "You are strong and wise. Hail the Shintaisei!" _How ponderous..._

"However, this requires much subtlety." Ryuko somberly added. He rose up slowly from his seat and strode to the now wary Reaper. "In order to properly identify future gods, of course. To reduce opposition. And also to prevent from getting too attached to those below us, those which we seek to dominate: Mortals."

"My Lord, so what is the meaning of this?" Reaper wondered aloud.

"As you know my daughter has left for the mortal realm many years ago, onstensibly to hone her skills. And that is a laudable decision for it is possible for mortals to be powerful even without the Chuu gene." Ryuko began explaining. "However, it has come to my attention that my daughter might be liable to stray."

"How do you mean?" Reaper questioned as calmly as he could. _So that cursed instinct I had was correct!_

"As I have repeated, of our tenets, there is also that we shouldn't get to involved with the mortals for fear of getting attached to them. Also that they would stand in opposition to our ambitions."

"Which would seem to be happening with my esteemed colleague's daughter." Another one of the men spoke up. "Though it's unclear to what extent, all signs seem to indicate that it cannot be long before she would develop attachments to mortals. Most pressing of all would apparently be a powerful Fire Kosajin."

"So what could be done, my lords? Are you proposing something drastic against Lord Ryuko's daughter?" Reaper replied, frowing under his mask.

"That's what I suggested earlier to my colleague." Another lord sneered. "After all, even I didn't hesitate to sacrifice my own son when he... veered... from our ways."

"Yes, we all remember your... sacrifice, Lord Dak." Reaper bit his lip to hide his disdain. "However, forgive me if I speak out of my rank, Lord Ryuko, and more so given my history with your daughter. It is my opinion that your daughter has tremendous potential. I don't believe she needs that kind of punishment."

"Indeed, I share that opinion too, Reaper." Ryuko stated, drawing a slight snarl from Dak. "I have pointed out to my esteemed colleagues that my daughter is not quite so far off that 'sacrificing' her would be necessary. So instead we are to take a different step: since she has made bonds with mortals, they must be broken!"

"But what if she knows, my lord? She would resent..."

"Which is why you'll take care that she doesn't know, of course" Ryuko's eyes narrowed dangerously at Reaper as he spoke.

"Yes, I understand."

"So, the task I... we... require of you is to break that most important bond, to kill this man." Ryuko handed Reaper an electronic file. "I specifically requested you perform this mission, Reaper. I thought you might have a certain interest in this this. After all, who knows if this man could become my daughter's consort without our interference."

Ryuko grinned wickedly as he said that last sentence, eyeing more carefully Reaper. But if the man was shocked, he didn't let his eyes show it.

"So I will leave this to you then. You must go immediately." Ryuko continued. "And of course, as a reward if you needed one, you'd be back to first in line for my daughter's hand, as you always wished I believe?"

"You are gracious... though I'm sure I can't take your reward for now." Reaper bowed before turning and leaving hastily.

Stomping away, Reaper was sure he could feel the Lords smirking behind his back. _Blast it! I don't believe this, they deliberately chose me of course because of our past relationship. Are they mocking me?!_

Coming to a halt, Reaper took a deep breath and analyzed the situation. _I have no choice. A mission is a mission. Besides, if it's true that_ _this man is likely to be her consort, I supposed I should be rid of him anyways. She is mine alone!_ Reaper pressed a couple of buttons on the device Ryuko gave him. There was a picture, profile and all other relevant information to the target. _Hmmm, Sulfus. So that's his name? Well by this time tomorrow, Sulfus, you will be dead!_

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"So, young ones, ready to take me on?!" Blok laughed heartily while Android 18 and Gohan eyed him carefully. Aurora meanwhile took her fighting stance and tried to glare aggressively. But the constant swishing of her tail back and forth betrayed her own fear.

"Look at her." Tempest snickered. "Well, just that should be enough to put her worthiness to rest, right?"

"Tempest, you can cut her some slack." Typhoon retorted casually. "Remember how nervous I was when I took my duties in the Wind a couple of years ago?"

"Seriously? You never seemed nervous to me." Tempest's eyes widened.

"Between you and me, cousin?…" Typhoon lowered his voice and grinned. "I was scared shitless."

The two Wind Kosajin exploded in laughter. Nautikaa barely listened as she awaited the battle to begin.

"Can you imagine for her? She's not only a year younger than I was at the time, she wants to claim leadership of all of us. She must be dying inside!"

"But that's what's different here." Tempest replied, regaining his seriousness. "It's because the stakes are higher, not just for her but for all of us. She's basically come to claim leadership of our future, of the whole race and the planet! On top of that, she's one of those dreadful Colds…"

"She's not what her family is." Nautikaa cut in sharply, freezing the two Winds with an icy tone. Tempest cleared his throat in nervousness.

"I'm not saying that she is automatically just because she has the same blood." He attempted to clarify. "But if she was raised the same way as them, then it's almost the same thing, right? I know I'm blunt… but she could turn into more of the same."

"Aurora was raised mostly by Raikou." Nautikaa replied more calmly. "Thankfully, King Cold never bothered to bring her along. Even more thankfully, Cooler insisted on her staying with Raikou instead of following them."

"What a degenerate family that was." Tempest mused.

"Shhh! You're gonna make us miss the fight." Typhoon softly chided.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the arena, Blok's completed transformation gave him a rock-like hide that seemed to completely replace his skin. He continued to gesticulate and taunt his three opponents.

"What kind of transformation is that?" Gohan asked aloud.

"That's not a transformation." Aurora volunteered. "Remember what Raikou said, the strongest Kosajin can control their respective element. Since Blok is of the Ground clan, he would have abilities related to ground and rock. So it's not really a transformation, just a manifestation of his power. There aren't any more Kosajin transformations that I'm aware of."

"Arlright, so what can we expect?" Gohan asked.

"Um, I don't know." Aurora sheepishly admitted.

"Huh?"

"Well, very few Kosajin can manage that kind of power. Maybe a handful in each Clan. In my family, not even my brother Cooler got that powerful, I heard. Only Father did apparently."

"But you managed to acquire your elemental powers, right?"

"I just barely acquired this ability thanks to Raikou's training, so I'm not quite good at it."

"Well, that's just great." Android 18 spat out. "Very useful! Might as well just go ahead and slug him like any other enemy."

"18, wait!" Gohan yelled as 18 leapt into the air.

"Finally, you're attacking!" Blok snickered.

Ignoring Gohan's pleas, 18 fired a rapid ki ball. The shot darted away so fast Aurora could barely track it. She was sure Blok could barely see it too and probably would have a hard time dodging it. But then, as the blast hit him, she wasn't sure he even bothered to dodge anyways.

"So how was that?" 18 gloated. "You barely moved."

"Indeed. As a matter of fact, I didn't move at all!" Blok boasted back as the explosion cleared to reveal him with not a single scratch on his rocky skin.

"Not even a burn mark." Gohan marvelled. "It's like a perfect deflection. But he didn't move to deflect it..."

"What, no damage?" 18 pondered, surprised, before recovering her composure.

Without warning she hurled a torrent of ki balls down to her opponent. Gohan eyed Blok carefully as the latter simply folded his arms. Within a fraction of a second, the ki blasts collided with him directly in rapid succession.

"Hey, Earthling, don't destroy this building!" Tempest yelled.

"At least we're outside Argyle Burg, an already noisy place." Typhoon noted. "So long as we don't make incredible damage, this should be fine."

"A little late for that, cousin. Look!" Tempest pointed out.

"Oh... Yeah, that is a lot of damage." Typhoon muttered when the smoke cleared, allowing a good view of the battlefield.

Surely enough, the arena's floor was destroyed in one section, leveling a good deal of dirt and soil underneath. However a single tile remained intact underneath the immobile form of Blok. He stood with his arms still crossed and a bored expression on his face.

"He didn't move at all..." Gohan wondered. "He didn't dodge and I didn't see him move his arms so he didn't try to block either or deflect either. I don't get it..."

"No, this must be that rock-like skin he made." Aurora reasoned. "It blocked all the shots instantly with no extra effort on his part."

"So basically, no long range attacks? This will be tough."

"What the hell was that? I couldn't dent him, I don't believe this!" 18 cursed as she landed next to her partners. "Now what do we do?"

"Hey, is it my turn to attack?" Blok exclaimed. "I'm not waiting around anymore. Let's go!"

"Oh crap..." Aurora muttered as Blok charged a large blast at the trio.

The shot fired off quickly and they barely got out of the way before it impacted the ground. They tried to disperse but Blok fired off more rounds at them. The best the trio could do was dodge and block the incoming blasts.

"Damnit!" Gohan yelled as another energy blast flew past his head. "He's keeping us at bay, knowing long range is useless against him. Aurora, is there anything you can do?"

"I-I don't know... I mean, I don't fight often..." Aurora stammered, barely cathing her breath.

"Bloody hell, you're completely useless! We're here to help you and you can't do anything for yourself, girl!" 18 screamed, her face flustered.

"18!" Gohan cut in with a reprobative tone. However, the distraction allowed him to be knocked back by a blast.

"Gohan!" Aurora shrieked.

"That's it, I'm going in!" 18 yelled.

The Android dove head first into Blok's blast barrage, blocking and ignoring them as she sped through. Blok flinched at her speed and didn't have time to react as her fist impacted with his face, causing him to stagger a few steps back.

"What the...?!" He stammered.

"Oh good... At least, something can be done." 18 barely caught her breath, her body smoldering from multiple impacts.

"Tch, like I'll let get away with that!" Blok retorted.

He quickly charged and fired a larger blast in his hands. Blown back several feet away, Android 18 fell dazed in a corner. Gohan visibly winced as he watched her fall to the ground.

"Gohan, what do we do now?" Aurora inquired nervously.

"Fromm the looks of it, he's weaker in hand to hand. Besides, it's no good to stay with long range attacks." Gohan noted cooly. "I'm gonna have to get up close but I need a distraction."

"Oh... Oh, I know! Leave it to me." Aurora suddenly lit up. "Here's what I'm going to do..." She whispered to the young Saiyan.

"Oh, that's great!" Gohan beamed once he understood her plan.

"Still more yapping, or do I have to come get you kids too?!" Blok mocked.

"Here I come!" Gohan retorted.

He dashed ahead at the Kosajin. Blok prepared his ki in his hands. He briefly noted Gohan shimmering but ignored it and sent a blast at the young boy, the shot connecting much to his satisfaction. But instead of revealing the falling body of the Saiyan, the smoke cleared to pieces of broken ice shards.

"What the hell...?!" Blok fumed. Feeling the temperature drop suddenly all around him, he looked up and was stunned by what he saw.

All around Blok, a couple dozen ice mirrors, the size of a man, floated in the room. It was hard to tell their location except for the shimmering where they would be. The Kosajin mentally questionned their significance until he caught a glimpse of Gohan dashing to his left. He turned around only to face a now empty ice mirror. More movement happened and Blok whirled around again to see two Gohans rush by in opposite directions before they disappeared, revealing again mirrors. His eyes widened and he took a step back, fists raised up in defense as he could only watch several Gohan's move in just as many directions at a time, unsure of which, if any, were real or just reflections. Meanwhile, the trio of spectators looked on, intrigued.

"Oh? Well that's a surprise!" Typhoon commented with a wide grin.

"Tch, you always say something like that!" Tempest sneered back.

"Well what? That's pretty novel, this could be even more exciting!" The Wind leader replied.

END OF PART FIVE


	6. OF Spotlight on CERION

Hi everyone! As those of you who read this regularly probably know, my fic has a few original characters of my own creation that pop up here and there. I figured it'd be cool to have an 'official' profile for some of them, namely those that are bound to reappear more often. So, here is a profile of one such character, Cerion!

**- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --**

**CERION**

Name: Cerion (pronounced Sir – eye – on )

Gender: Female

Race: Unknown (though she is a nearly immortal Goddess)

Age: Unknown (she looks like she's in her early or mid twenties)

Height: 6'1

Hair: Black

Eyes: Light brown

Other physical features and typical attire: Cerion is relatively tall with a somewhat slender build. Her top is a gold-coloured armour, with a bottom that's a light orange skirt almost down to her knees. She also dons a purple cape, attached to bracelets at her wrists, and a golden crown with a single jewel on her head.

Personality and history: Cerion joined the Planet Traders a dozen years ago. Her skills and power were quickly noticed and she rose up the ranks to become one of Dudan's Elites. It's where she also met the Kosajin Sulfus, her habitual partner on missions. So far, Cerion pursues a triple agenda: gaining experience to make herself more powerful; locating and securing the Power Stones; and finding and neutralizing non-aligned and enemy "Godlings", whether through co-option or elimination. Keeping very few friends and allies, Cerion maintains a cool personality with almost aristocratic manners, along with a certain indifference. However, she has at times been adamant on Sulfus not getting harmed.


	7. OF Spotlight on SULFUS

Hi everyone! As those of you who read this regularly probably know, my fic has a few original characters of my own creation that pop up here and there. I figured it'd be cool to have an 'official' profile for some of them, namely those that are bound to reappear more often. So, here is a profile of one such character, Sulfus!

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

**SULFUS**

Name: Sulfus

Gender: Male

Race: Kosajin (Fire)

Age: 55

Height: 5'7

Hair: none

Eyes: red

Other physical features and typical attire: His body being particularly developed, more astoundingly so given his modest height, Sulfus appears very bulky. Even his tail is both short and muscular. His skin is mostly light yellow, save for patches on his shoulders, arms, head and chest that were dark yellow. He wears helmet with tusks that run downward all the way to his chin.

Personality and history: Sulfus left his home to become a mercenary in the Planet Traders that was terrorizing the galaxy. He worked directly under Cooler at the time of the Saiyan race's extinction at the hands of Freezer but has hinted at survivors. One such survivor was Djoukien, who knew him personally. Later, Sulfus worked for Dudan, another head of the Planet Traders. Around that time, Cerion joined that unit too. Her and Sulfus became regular partners, even within Dudan's Elites. While he must be ruthless enough to have been involved in the planet trade, Sulfus entertained the thought of getting a less exceptional occupation.


	8. Ch 6: Awakening

**QUEST FOR POWER 2: CHALLENGE KINGDOM**

By Konrad

PART 6

Daylight came into Raikou's residence to wake up a sleeping Triclops. Tenshinhan groaned his disapproval at being woken up in such a way, which he wasn't accustomed to. Waking up early or late felt the best to him. The last couple of weeks have seen him spent several days inside spaceships in the middle of space without a sun to disrupt him. Home on Earth on the other hand, he'd usually be stirred either by the smell of Chaozu's delicious cooking or to Lunch cuddling to him.

_Lunch…_ Tenshinhan thought solemnly. _How long has it been anyways? Sixth day here so… seventeen days since we left Earth? Sounds right. Don't worry Lunch, and you too Chaozu, I'm definitely coming home!_

"Well it's about time you're up!"

"Waaahhh!" Tenshinhan shrieked, not having noticed that his host was standing by the doorway, staring at him. "How long you been there, you crazy woman?"

"Hmmm, not long." Raikou answered after a moment's hesitation. "Just checking up on you."

"I'm fine!" Tenshinhan replied hastily, instinctively reaching a hand to feel the bandaged eye on his forehead. He looked on curiously as Raikou moved her lips, keeping from saying something. "You're not here to poke my eye again, are you?" He said half serious, forcing the Kosajin to sigh in acknowledgment.

"Actually, I wanted to know... which one of you killed Cooler?" Tenshinhan's now frozen face told her what she needed to know. "As I thought, so it was one of you."

"Yeah, he came to Earth..." Tenshinhan sighed. "Actually, Goku killed him on New Namek from what I was told. I wasn't there that time. But I was near when Freezer and King Cold were killed by Trunks."

"I see."

"How'd you figure that out?"

"A guess really." Raikou said. "I knew they were killed on Earth and since Earth is a really small planet, there couldn't be that many warriors there. So I thought it might've been you guys."

"Yeah, good reasoning I suppose."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to accuse you of anything wrong. It's just that..."

"You're worried about Aurora, right?" Tenshinhan said.

"Yeah. I wonder how she'll take it. I don't think I could hide this from her." Raikou replied. "Cold and Freezer were the worst and she didn't know them that well so that's not a problem. But she was really close to Cooler and, as bad as he was, he really cared about her... In a sense, I felt close to him too... It'd hurt her so much to find out he died because of you guys. She likes you guys a lot, especially Gohan."

"I see." Tenshinhan paused for a moment. "Well I guess there's no point in hiding it. If you could figure it out, I guess she will too eventually. Not telling it to her would only make it worse."

"I'll tell her, I'll take care of that. Not sure how or when though but I think it'll go better."

"Man, these things are never easy, are they?" Tenshinhan sighed.

"You're better than you give yourself credit for, Tenshinhan, really." The Kosajin said. Tenshinhan lowered his gaze slightly, a small outline of a smile peeking at the corners of his lips.

"Thank you again. I'll try to keep that in mind."

"I'm sure you will... Speaking of which, how are the kids doing? They should be meeting the other Kosajin right about now." Raikou pondered.

"Want me to check up on them?" Tenshinhan replied. He closed his eyes and felt out for his friends' ki signatures. "Hmmm, the three of them seem to be doing ok. So no..." Tenshinhan froze in mid-sentence and frowned.

"Something wrong?" Raikou inquired.

_The hell... That can't be... No, it is!_ "Gohan! He's in danger, the others too." He cried out abruptly, opening his eyes wide.

"What?! Explain yourself."

"The kids are in going to be in trouble. There's someone extremely dangerous near them and I don't think Gohan noticed yet. And even if he did... We've got to get moving, this is seriously bad. Damnit, I can't believe this!" Tenshinhan cursed as he jumped out of bed, not caring that he wasn't wearing anything.

"It's that bad?" Raikou bit her lip at the thought of Aurora in danger.

"How the hell did I not sense this?! Kami, I'm so foolish!" The Triclops raged to himself.

"Tenshinhan, get a bloody grip on yourself!" Raikou screamed, exasperated. "If you panic, then you truly are a fool. I can appreciate this is trouble but you're not helping by acting like this. Listen to me, calm yourself. The kids need us. They need you!"

"O-okay."

"You alright now? So we head out to help the kids?"

"Yeah." Tenshinhan replied as he swiftly got dressed, taking in deep breaths to overcome the dread and guilt. "It would be easier if all of us went, let's go get Vegeta too."

"Right... Eh, no wait. Vegeta's not here." Raikou suddenly realised.

"What do you mean he's not here?"

"I didn't hear him come back last night."

"Hold on, maybe he's just outside."

"Not on the mansion grounds anyways. I would've known."

"Alright, let me scan the countryside and the closest towns." Tenshinhan took a moment to reach out with his senses only to find he couldn't feel the Saiyan Prince. "Huh, he's not in the area either." He mused.

"So can you do the whole planet?" Raikou asked.

"Yeah, I guess that wouldn't be too much of a stretch given how strong he is." The Triclops replied. He pushed out much further only to come up empty again. "No, I-I can't feel him again. Did he get in a fight and die or something?"

"Nah, you probably would've felt something like a power spike I suppose. What about off the planet?"

"That's silly, what would he be doing..." As he spoke, Tenshinhan felt a faint signal nick his senses and his jaw dropped in shock.

"So is he somewhere, sleeping maybe?" Raikou asked but got no immediate response. "Well, anything?" But again, no words came out yet. Instead, a growing mask of both anger and apprehension distorted Tenshinhan's features until finally his lips moved.

"Son of a...!"

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

"Take this!" Blok yelled as he fired another blast at 'Gohan'. But all it managed to do was destroy another ice mirror, which was replaced quickly by Aurora. "Damn it! Are you gonna fight or what?!"

"Suit yourself." Gohan replied.

Blok couldn't turn around quickly enough when he heard the real Saiyan's voice behind him. Gohan's foot smashed him into the ground. It was swiftly accompanied by a barrage of punches. Blok managed to put up his defenses and then took a swipe at the boy.

"So your rock skin is better against long range attacks than melee." Gohan said as he dodged and retreated into the mirrors. His reflections once again gave the impression of multiple 'Gohans' moving in various directions.

"You stupid brat!" Blok cursed, struggling back up.

"Alright, go Gohan!" Aurora cheered on, as Gohan made another concealed round of attacks at the Kosajin. Blok barely counter-attacked, only managing to push Gohan back into the mirrors.

"This isn't going well. How can I…?" Blok wondered as a thought occurred in his mind. "Of course!" He exclaimed after a moment.

The Kosajin placed his hands on the ruined arena floor and almost instantly a mighty rumbling erupted from the ground. Before they could figure out what was happening, Gohan and Aurora gasped as they saw the once pristine floor upheave itself and be overturned completely by the dark brown earth beneath.

"Perfect! Now to move out of this corner and get rid of these mirrors straight at their source." Blok said with satisfaction. The Kosajin's skin quickly turned into the same dark brown as the soil and, in front of Gohan's bewildered eyes, he dissolved into the ground.

"What on earth…?" The boy started to mutter.

"Hey, what's going… on?" Aurora's gaze drifted to her feet where the soil beside her started to move. Her eyes widened as it lifted itself into a column, then it changed shape to assume to the full form of Blok.

"Oh…!"

"Finally got you!" The Kosajin male exclaimed as he landed one thunderous punch that sent Aurora sprawling to the floor.

Simultaneously, all the ice mirrors shattered around Gohan. The young Saiyan turned around to look back at Aurora as Blok stood triumphantly above her.

_Damnit, how'd he get over there like that? Don't tell me that's part of his powers!_ He thought as he darted towards Blok.

"Aurora!" Gohan cried out as he wound up a punch at Blok.

But Blok, despite his incredible bulk, was able to turn into the same composition as the soil again in an instant. Gohan missed just as the Kosajin adversary dissolved into the ground.

_Crap, he…?!_ "Oooof!" Gohan let out as a knee came to his gut. Almost as quickly as he disappeared, Blok had reappeared to deliver a sharp blow.

"So, how'd you like that?" Blok taunted. "I can also play the disappearing trick!" He immediately melted again into the ground.

_Damnit, I can't track him like that!_ Gohan winced at the pain in his stomach but tried to leap as he felt the earth move barely a moment after his opponent had disappeared. It wasn't quick enough however and Blok held him by the ankle with one hand while charging an incredible amount of energy in the other.

"Finally, let's see you handle this up close!" Blok boasted.

Gohan was barely able to put up his defenses against the point-blank shot. Nevertheless, he found himself engulfed in pain and was sent careening much further. He barely remained conscious but found himself unable to get back up.

"Gohan!" Aurora shrieked furiously. She clenched her fists, ignoring the pain of her nails biting into her own skin.

"Well so much for that, Princess." Blok spoke.

"W-what? Wait, I…" Aurora started.

"Wait for what, little girl?! Your bid to have us accept you ends here!" The Ground Kosajin mocked. "Not only have you been beaten fair and square, how could you even have thought you were good enough for us?!"

"I-I worked hard... and I'm trying to do the best for all of us. I'm not weak, I'm not..." Aurora found herself choking back on her own words and lowered her head in shame.

"Blok!" Typhoon growled from the sidelines.

"You couldn't get here on your own strength… because you have none!" Blok continued.

"Blok, stop it, please." Nautikaa chided.

"And now even with your allies, I've beaten you so easily! What do you think of that?" Blok went on.

"Eh, don't you think you're going a little overboard." Tempest suggested nervously.

"You come here claiming we need a new ruler simply on the basis that you happen to get lucky with all the leading bloodlines in you." Blok said. "When all you are is a weakling. A lucky brat, that's what you are!"

"I'm not weak..." The response came, almost too silent to be picked up by the spectators.

"What's that?" Blok replied, snickering. Aurora's head snapped back up, startling the Ground Kosajin. Her face turned into an emotionless mask and her eyes blazed with an eerie white glow, hiding her pupils. Blok took fright and jumped back.

Aurora took a couple of slow steps forward. The glow in her eyes expanded until it engulfed her whole body too. Soon she started shimmering and appeared as nothing more than a whiteish blur. Beneath it, the outlines of her form could still be vaguely made out, though a part of the blur also seemed to extend outwards from the middle of her back as if something was there.

"What the hell is this?!" He yelled out, frustrated.

_Aurora?! This feels like those times I transformed._ A weakened Gohan pondered as he pushed himself on his arms. _How's that possible?_

"What's going on? This isn't like anything I've seen before, even with elemental control!" Tempest said, his eyes bulging.

"Oh, looks like she's got more in her than even I gave her credit for." Typhoon exclaimed, grinning, before turning to their partner. "What do you make of this, Nautikaa...huh?!" He froze as he looked at the Water Princess. He expected some reaction from her but the unfamiliar frown she wore now seemed, to him, distinctly worried.

"So you've got some fight left in you?" Blok taunted. "Let's see what you really got, little weakling!"

"I'm not weak." Aurora spoke plainly.

She swiped the air with her hand and the soil beneath Blok latched onto his legs. Before he could react, the Kosajin male was swiftly sinking into the ground.

"H-Hey, let me go! How come I can't control the ground? What have you done, you... No!" He cried out as the ground swallowed him entirely.

The soil continued to move at the spot where Blok was buried. Waves of it moved in opposite directions to clash against each other, indicating how Blok was struggling unsuccessfully to control his own element.

"What is the meaning of this?" Typhoon wondered aloud, his brows furrowed in worry. "I've never seen anything like this."

"I-I don't know what's going on either." Tempest replied breathlessly.

_Aurora?!_ "Aurora!" Gohan cried out, scrambling to get his feet. But the pain from Blok's blast forced him back down to his knees. "Aurora, what are you doing?! Get a hold of yourself!" _Damnit, if this is anything like my transformations..._

By now, Android 18 had finally stirred up to the commotion around her. "Ugh, that's smarts. Now... huh, what's going on here?" She spoke to herself as she saw a bright form, vaguely resembling Aurora, gesticulate with her hands.

While apparently continuing to control the ground with her own will, Aurora dropped down on one knee. Raising one hand, she then slammed her palm to the ground and a coating of ice rapidly spread on it from that spot. Instinctively, Gohan and Android 18 leapt away and into the stands to where the other Kosajin were watching. In an instant, the ground had completely frozen over and no more movement could be detected from Blok who was still underneath.

"No!" Gohan cried out to the Ice Kosajin but she didn't head his call.

"How the hell did she do that?!" Typhoon said. Tempest frowned deeply.

"I don't know. But she's as much a danger as her whole damn family!"

"Aurora, stop it! You've won already, now get a hold of yourself!" Gohan continued yelling frantically.

Finally, the Ice Princess, still partially concealed beneath the shimmering glow, stood up and turned to the small group. Without a word, she raised a hand in their direction and immediately they all braced themselves.

"Stop it." Nautikaa stated simply from behind Aurora, grabbing the threatening hand.

"The hell...?" 18 wondered aloud. She looked around to confirm that Nautikaa had indeed disappeared from their midst to join Aurora in the middle of the ruined arena. "How did she move so fast?"

"That's Nautikaa for you." Typhoon responded. "Anyways, what just happened here?"

"Stop it, Aurora. You're killing him." Nautikaa repeated. Aurora hesitated before turning around. "No, you really don't want to do that." Nautikaa growled in response to the silent threat. She poured out her power and overwhelmed the younger girl, forcing her to stagger back. "Now calm down and regain control of yourself. You're the master of your body, of your powers, of your emotions. Not the other way around. Get control of yourself, Princess Aurora."

As Nautikaa said those words, the strange glow faded gradually from Aurora. Her body became clearer and her back lost whatever extra form had grown from it. Finally rid of the haze, the young girl reappeared in her normal state, panting heavily and sweat dripping from her brow.

"Wha-what happened? I..." Aurora paused when she saw the Water Kosajin towering menacingly over her. "Nautikaa? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, there is. Blok is buried under this ice frozen ground and presumably will die if we don't get him out quickly enough." Nautikaa replied nonchalantly, though a certain displeasure was vaguely concealed in her voice. "It seems you had lost your mind for a few moments there, enough anyways to have me alarmed."

"What?! Oh no, you can't be serious, you mean this was my fault?" The girl panicked, tears welling up in her eyes. "I-I don't know what happened."

All the others rushed to the arena, landing around the two female Kosajin. Tempest, in particular, was literally shooting daggers from his eyes, seemingly ready to pounce on the poor Aurora.

"Murderer!" He yelled at her in fury. "Are you here to kills us?"

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt Blok!" Aurora whimpered.

"You're just like your whole stinking family, I knew it! Just a bunch of would-be tyrants and killers."

"Please, I swear..."

"You bastard!" Gohan berated Tempest. "You know damn well that was an accident."

"Bullshit, you don't buy that, do you?" Tempest yelled back. "She's just a piece of trash. You're no better defending her like that. Are you blind and stupid, Earthling?"

"Please stop, I don't..." Aurora tried to interject sobbing.

"What the hell's your problem, you're paranoid or something?" Gohan shot back. "You keep putting everyone in the same damn basket. You didn't even give her a damn. You and your stupid friend kept pushing and pushing, that's why he's freezing his ass off!

"You stupid brat, you really who you're defending?! A murderous, conniving Cold!" Tempest replied.

"Stop it, stop it!" Aurora shrieked at the top of her lungs, causing everyone to look back at her. Tears overflowing, she hung her head low. "I'm sorry, all of you. I shouldn't have done attempted, I'm not worthy of leading anything. I'm sorry I wasted everyone's time, I promise you won't hear from me again. I quit."

With that, Aurora ran out the arena.

END OF PART SIX


	9. Ch 7: When trouble comes looking

**QUEST FOR POWER 2: CHALLENGE KINGDOM**

By Konrad

PART 7

_Annoying. _Nautikaa thought as she watched Gohan and Tempest match glares.

"Now you see the woman you were defending?" Tempest argued.

"It's your fault, you pushed her over the edge. You never gave her a chance to begin with!" Gohan retorted, fists tightened into balls.

"You're just like her then! C'mon, you're gonna do what she did to Blok and kill me?! Go ahead, hit me if you want to, little boy!"

The young Saiyan stood his ground silently, fists clenched until they were red and eyes that would spew fire if they could. A slight shaking ran through his entire body but he didn't reply.

"Gohan, let's just get out of here. It's pointless. It was pointless from the start." Android 18 finally let out.

"Finally, even your friend says so!" Tempest boasted triumphantly.

"18, go get Aurora." Gohan said. "Make sure she's ok."

"She'll be fine. This isn't our business..."

"It is our business!" Gohan replied sharply, turning his head to the Android. 18 barely withheld a gasp at the glare he was now throwing at her. "Even if you don't do it for her... 18, go see her, talk to her, understand her. Then do whatever you want. But at least do that for now."

18 returned Gohan's look and opened her mouth to reply. But a moment passed by without a sound coming out as something occupied her mind. She finally relented and sighed.

"I-I see... I'll go find her then."

Gohan nodded thankfully and 18 raced out of the arena, homing on Aurora's ki. The Saiyan boy then turned to the remaining Kosajin.

_Very annoying._ "Before we continue to argue over our differences, there's something that we need to tend to right away. After all, you guys were too heated to notice and this is quite urgent." Nautikaa explained.

A perplexed look crossed the men's faces as the Water Kosajin raised her fist. She then punched into the frozen ground below, instantly shattering it with a loud boom and sending chunks of rock flying about. The males' eyes bulged in surprise and relief as a trembling Blok proceeded to wiggle himself free of the rubble. Gashes all over his body let out precious blood, he panted heavily and limped as he got up but otherwise he was well and alive.

"Blok! Thank goodness you're okay." Typhoon said.

"You might've noticed as well had you paid attention." Nautikaa chided nonchalantly.

"S-shit! I c-can't believe that girl did that." Blok started, his expression haggard. "She made the ground move against me!"

"What?" Typhoon and Tempest gasped almost simultaneously.

"Blok, you did seem to lose control of your Ground element. It seemed your powers went haywire. You're saying that was because of Aurora?" Nautikaa inquired.

"No! I didn't lose control. Rather... she controlled it herself."

"What?! That's ridiculous." Nautikaa stated simply with a deep frown.

"I'm telling you, the ground moved against my will! I was trying to use it but she was controling it herself."

"I don't get it. That's clearly a mistake." Typhoon interjected.

"I'm sorry I don't know these things but... how is that surprising?" Gohan piped in curiosity. "Aurora should have some Ground genes in her, right?"

"Certainly, she does." Nautikaa explained. "But that shouldn't make a difference. No Kosajin has ever had power over two or more elements, even with many genes. There's always just one gene that randomly dominates the others, that's all."

"Are you sure about that, Nautikaa?"

"Of course. But we'll see whatever it was about this fight that made Blok lose later. Now there's the matter of what to do with Aurora."

"She almost killed me." Blok spat out bluntly. "She's even more dangerous than any of us thought!"

"Like I said. She's one of them, she can't be trusted." Tempest argued in turn.

"Tempest, you have to stop putting everyone in the same basket." Typhoon replied, frowning.

"How can you say something like that, cousin? The apple never falls far from the tree."

"That's still no excuse to attribute the sins of her father and brothers to her just because of an accident of birth. She wasn't even with them all this time." Typhoon countered.

"So what?! She can do it, it's in her. You saw it too, she just tried to kill Blok!"

"That's because you keep freaking pushing her!" Gohan yelled, his face unusually crimson. "You keep pushing and pushing until she breaks, what the hell did you expect?! You never gave her a damn chance to prove herself, all you do is insult and make her feel small. You think that's fair?!"

"You think that's fair that every Kosajin man, woman and child suffered because of her damn family?!" Tempest cursed back.

"They're nothing but a bunch of murderous thieves." Blok added. "They only know violence and greed."

"Enough!" Nautikaa roared above the melee, forcibly cowering the males. "I wanted to keep this at least somewhat civilized. But it seems it won't be the case. Anyways, I know very well the case against allying again with the Cold Clan. You, Gohan, as a stranger who supposedly arrived here a few days ago and know almost nothing about us or the situation, what is your case for supporting Princess Aurora?"

"To be honest I guess I wouldn't have a case, really. I'm not good at this kind of stuff..." The boy sighed. "Well! You're right about a few things, the Cold family has hurt a lot of people. And there's no telling what might happen..."

"See? Now do you agree..." Tempest was about to jubilate.

"Tempest, let the boy talk." Typhoon growled.

"It just that it doesn't necessarily mean that she'll end up the same. At least just give her the chance, just don't pressure her like that." Gohan continued.

"So what are you saying, boy?" Nautikaa asked.

"Well, if you really want that kind of answer... I think she really wants to be accepted amongst you and help bring peace to your planet... I truly believe her."

"I see. So let's tally based on everything up until and including today, can Aurora can be a strong and reponsible figurehead for a unified Kosajin race? What do each of you say?"

"No." Blok said without hesitation.

"No." Tempest added just as quickly.

"Yes!" Gohan said.

"...Yes." Typhoon decided. Tempest eyed him sharply and the look was promptly returned more sternly.

"Stalemate then. And I don't even know myself." Nautikaa sighed. "Well, I'll consider this and let all of you, and Raikou as well, know of my thoughts and decision tomorrow."

"Nautikaa..." Tempest was about to protest.

"That is all. You are all free to return to your homes. Actually, I encourage you to do so now."

Catching on, the males decided not to test Nautikaa's patience. They started to part ways. Gohan was about to be the last to leave.

"Gohan." Nautikaa called, grabbing the Saiyan's attention. "Quite the speech. And mature of you. I'm guessing you grew up fast, maybe too much so."

"Eh? Maybe, I suppose. But I guess I had too!" Gohan put his hand behind his head and flashed a broad silly grin.

"I'm sure you're doing the best you can, whatever that may be, for everyone. I have a feeling you can change everything for the better... like Aurora."

"W-what? You...?"

"Quiet child, I'm merely making an observation. Anyways, like I said, I need the day to think this over. This is very important."

Gohan nodded with a bright smile. Saying goodbye to the Water Princess, he then darted off briskly.

The stone-faced Nautikaa wearily let out a deep breath. _So very, very, very annoying..._

_- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -_

Sulfus yawned as he got up. _Well this isn't going to be bad at all._ He thought to myself. The small quarters he was now holed in was nothing compared to what he'd been used to in the late Dudan's army as one of the Elites. But then again, it's much better to have a low profile here.

After briskly prepping himself, Sulfus stepped out into the main deck of the space station Orion. Immediately upon his entry, he was saluted by an older Kosajin male in a lab coat.

"Hi, you must be the new security chief." He greeted him with a smile. "I'm the head of research here. I'm sorry I couldn't greet you on your arrival yesterday."

"That's no problem." Sulfus reassured. "This is my first official day on the job anyways. I didn't know there were still specialized research stations with the pot simmering on the planet amongst the clans. I guess that's what I'm here for."

"On the other hand, harmless research can be done better here, no one would attack a place that merely looks into botanicals. And the staff here is pretty small as you've seen by now certainly. Seven scientists including myself and four security guards including yourself. Of course, precautions need to be taken anyways."

"Of course." Sulfus smiled back politely.

"Though he hardest part of being assigned to places like these is being away from family for days or even weeks."

"Hmmm, yeah..." _That's right, how has my family been? Not getting in touch with them as soon as I arrived was necessary, but still... Well, it can wait a while. Maybe if Cerion stays..._

"Well, time to start the day! I'll be going to the lab now." The scientist spoke and walked away.

_Yes, a normal job!_ Sulfus jubilated in his head._ And easy too!_

"Good morning boss!" Sulfus turned around to see his three charges. Two of them were male, Cinder and Calcynon. The lone female, Volkanika, was the one that called out. "Ready for your first day? This is going to be fun!"

"Yes, I'm sure the boss's idea of fun is moving stuff around." Cinder noted drawing an indigant look from Volkanika.

"Well it's not like much excitement happens around here!" The woman countered. As it wasn't their first stint in a minor station, they knew what it meant and advised Sulfus that 'security' was really for the heavy duties the scientists coud barely do themselves.

"Either way, whatever we'll do will cut the boredom here, there's never anything bad happening..." Sulfus started when suddenly a massive explosion rocked the station, sending the four of them to the floor. Immediately a blinking red light, accompanied by a blaring siren, engulfed the whole structure. "What in blazes happened?"

"I-I don't know!" Cinder stuttered.

Before anything could be added, the siren was drowned out by a loud robotic voice crying out 'Intruder alert!'

"The intruder alert?" Calcynon said in shock. "This never happened before!"

"Well it looks like it's happening now!" Sulfus growled as he shot back up. "Come on, the explosion sounded like it came from the lab. Hopefully this is some sort of mistake." The others nodded and followed him promptly.

_Ugh, already some excitement?! Why do I feel like this is going to be particularly annoying?_ Sulfus thought grimly.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

"It is our business! It is our business! Nyaah nyaah nyaah!" 18 mimicked bitterly as she flew over a vast expanse. "Whatever! This is so annoy... ah?"

After following Aurora's ki, she could finally make out the Kosajin's form, sitting atop a ledge overlooking a vast empty plain. _She certainly picked her spot. _The Android thought. Aurora stiffened visibly at 18's arrival but didn't turn around to look at her.

"Hey, beautiful place." 18 spoke before chastising herself mentally. _What a lame thing to say!_

"Hey... Gohan's not here?"

"Nah, he's still talking with the others."

"Oh. So I guess you're here to tell me how they plan to get rid of me? Or you're here to make sure I don't endanger someone else while they talk?"

"Hey, not fair! Why the hell are you saying that?!" 18 fumed. Grabbing Aurora by the shoulders, she roughly turned her around only to stare into her moist eyes. The Android gasped and froze at the Kosajin's impassive but melancholic face.

"Well, what else would they be discussing while sending you here?" Aurora responded dejectedly. "No one was ever going to like me in the first place. And now everyone simply hates me. Nautikaa, Gohan, Blok, you..."

"I-It's not like that!" 18 blurted out. "I don't hate you... well I shouldn't. But it has nothing to do with you." She felt the warmth rise to her cheeks at the thought of Gohan. "And Gohan doesn't either. As a matter of fact... I see what he likes in you and you are a good person."

"Oh." Aurora stated. 18 mentally thanked Kami for Aurora's oblivious expression. "Still, I can't be that good. I owe you and Gohan and Raikou so much. But everyone else is against me."

"No, they're not! And if you think so, why do you bother? What're you trying to do here?"

"Well, I thought I could make a difference. Having someone all the Clans could rally around and stop all their rivalries." Aurora resumed staring into the distance. "But all everyone sees is the Cold family. I didn't know much about my family, I didn't know they were that bad. I should probably just crawl into a hole somewhere and live quietly. Maybe Raikou can find someone acceptable in the branch house of the Ice royal family, even if they're not likely to have all the legitimate bloodlines."

"Which is why you should be the one!" Android 18 insisted. "Look, I know Gohan is back there supporting you. And I maybe I haven't been completely right with you but I know you won't step over someone like that. Eventually everyone will see that too. I'm with you, Aurora, no matter what."

"Oh, thank you, 18!" Aurora almost choked on her words. Getting up, she let the Android embrace her and returned the hug.

"There, I think that's enough for today." 18 said as she let go of the younger girl. "Let's go back to Raikou's and wait..." She abruptly paused, jaw open and face contorted into a mask of fear.

"18, what's wrong?... Hey, you hear that? Sounds like a strong wind coming..." Aurora started.

"N-No, it's...!" 18 realised what it was but it was too late.

Arriving in a blinding flash of light, she stopped in front of the two girls, hovering almost hautingly above them. The raven hair, the golden armour and the purple cape were unmistakable.

"Cerion?!" 18 yelled out, her face livid.

"Nice to see you again, Android 18." Cerion responded, smirking. "And please, step away from the girl."

END OF PART SEVEN


	10. Ch 8: The wasted life

**QUEST FOR POWER 2: CHALLENGE KINGDOM**

By Konrad

PART 8

The Orion shook once more with another explosion as Sulfus and his team reached the lab. With smoke billowing from the entrance behind them, the scientists were fleeing towards the hangar.

"H-he's insane! The material he set off, it's starting a fire!" The lead scientist cried out. Sulfus nodded in acknowledgement and the scientist immediately followed his colleagues in flight.

Sulfus' squad rushed inside the lab to assess the situation and stopped at what lay ahead. The vast chamber was ablaze, its various and dangerous contents already in a greenish inferno. The flames licked at more chemical compounds as well as at the station's very structure. However, they immediately turned their attention to the silhouette near the fire. Concealed in a large cloak, the person seemed to survey their handiwork.

"You there, stop!" Cinder yelled.

The intruder abruptly turned around, revealing only a pair of obsidian eyes and a short nose while the rest of the face was hidden behind a scarf. One quick look at the concealed form told Sulfus that they were dealing dealing with a male. A sudden feeling of familiarity chilled him and he tried to move as quickly as possible. But the stranger was quicker and flickered past the lead Kosajin. The remaining, less experienced, team members were also caught off guard as the intruder fled past them in a blur. Having bolted past everyone, he promptly engaged himself down the corridor where the Kosajin scientists had previously fled through only moments ago.

_Shit! Way too fast._ Sulfus cursed to himself.

"What in blazes...?" Volkanika murmured.

"He's heading for the evacuation ships, and the science crew!" Calcynon exclaimed in realization. "We gotta stop him."

The Kosajin sped after the intruder, barely keeping in step with him. Moments later they crashed into the hangar, hot on his heels. The science crew were apparently caught by surprise as only a few of them had at that point manned the individual evacuation pods. Panic abruptly hastened their pace then as they each quickly rushed to the remaining ships. The ennemy took an ominous step towards the nearest one.

"No, you don't!" Calcynon fulminated, lunging himself at the intruder.

"Calcynon, no...!" Sulfus bellowed.

The younger Kosajin didn't hear the warning in time and the intruder made an about-face to deliver a sharp punch to his gut. Calcynon's eyes rolled in their sockets and he passed out immediately, causing his comrades to gasp in surprise. Before the unconscious warrior's body had time to crumble to the ground, the cloaked stranger grabbed him and unceremoniously tossed him into the neareast ship, the cockpit slamming shut as a result. No sooner that was done that the stranger, in one continuous motion, flashed in front of the other three Kosajin and were upon them in an instant.

Out of instinct, Sulfus threw a punch that was parried but, instead of a proper follow-up, he found himself hurled to the side with a jab to his ribs. Having opened a gap between his would-be captors, the stranger jumped to the younger ones. Sulfus, meanwhile, rolled roughly on the floor. The sound of yelling and yelping beckoned him to get back in battle as soon as he could. But as he finally brought his skidding to a halt and looked up, the battle was already over, his young charges unconscious and the stranger dragging them by their collars.

"Get away from them!" Sulfus yelled.

"Shut up, you heap of dog shit!" The intruder responded in a familiar voice that shocked the Kosajin. "Or else I'll kill them."

"So, taking hostages, eh?" Sulfus sneered as he got up, taking small satisfaction that at least the scientists were gone in their ships.

"No. Not in the mood." The stranger replied as he proceeded to stuff Volkanika and Cinder into pods. He then pointed to the trio of ships with one hand, preparing a ki ball in the other. "Just get them outta here. And no funny stuff or I really have to vaporize them."

Sulfus glared but complied as he went to a nearby control. A few button presses later and the pods that contained Volkanika, Cinder and Calcynon launched with their unconscious cargo. Sulfus sighed in satisfaction and the masked intruder's shoulders fell as he too seemed to relax. That moment of relief blew away as the two remaining occupants of the burning space station turned to face each other.

"I can't believe it's you here..." Sulfus hissed as the intruder finally removed his cloak and scarf to removed the towering spiky hair to match the less-towering form of... "Vegeta!"

"Well, glad to see you recognize me." Vegeta taunted while failing to conceal his panting from his performance.

"I thought the voice sounded familiar. But how the hell did you get here? How did you follow me?!"

"Wouldn't you like to know? There I was in a bar, drinking and wondering where I'd be next, when all of a sudden I feel someone familiar. I turn around and there you are, that same stupid helmet and tail and all, chatting with someone else. So I stalked you from the bar and hitched a ride in the craft that bought you here."

"Wait a minute..." Sulfus blanched as thoughts of the night at the 'Wet Salamander' sprung to mind. _That spiky hair..._ "It was you?!"

"So you had actually seen me but didn't do anything about it? Stupid." The Prince snarled back.

"I wasn't sure... I thought I had seen someone familiar but then the thought left my mind. In any case, what in the blazes are you doing here?"

"We didn't finish our 'chat' last time. I remember someone running away..."

"I was teleported out!"

"Right right, your ass was rescued 'cause someone obviously saw how outmatched you were."

"What do you want, Saiyan?!"

"You piece of trash, I want answers!" Vegeta snapped suddenly, losing his smirk and pointing at the Kosajin. "You said you know something about my people? That they're still alive and that I even have a sister?! I want to know everything."

"Heh, and how will you get that?"

"If you don't tell me now, I'll pound it out of you. I want my people back, now!" Vegeta screamed as he bursted into his Super Saiyan form. The shockwaves from the sudden transformation rocked the damaged space station further and forced Sulfus to brace himself.

_Shit! I pushed him too far. Well, there was no choice but to go anyway. Why didn't he kill everyone else though...?_

"Alright, since you're going all out, I guess it's time I showed you my higher form too." Sulfus stated.

With that, the Kosajin lit up in a blinding light. As it grew brighter, flames erupted from his body, the heat punishing the battered station further and setting parts of it ablaze. Vegeta recovered his strained sight as the light dimmed to stare, his jaw agape, at what was before him. Sulfus was now a bipedal inferno, radiating a fiery glow that would easily sear anything within its reach. A yellow haze engulfed his whole body and embers flickered away randomly. The pupils of Sulfus' eyes disapeared entirely, a seemingly radioactive billow emanating from his eyes as well as his nostrils and his mouth. Underneath the glow, Vegeta could make out the Kosajin's battle-ready grin.

"First time seeing a transformed Kosajin, huh? Only a handful of us are that strong." Sulfus mocked.

"Heh, that electricity bitch might've said a thing or two in that sense." Vegeta retorted. "Though I wouldn't think one as weak as you would've qualified."

_'That electricity bitch'? How long as he been here?! Certainly he's not talking about..._ "Whatever, little man. Why don't you see up close how strong I am?"

"I said I want answers, you're not stopping me from getting what I need to know!" Vegeta screamed out.

As the Saiyan lunged at him, Sulfus sent out a silent prayer to the stars. _Cooler-sama, you never said it would be like this._

Vegeta landed and smashed into the floor where Sulfus was a not even a moment ago. While evading, the Kosajin spun and waved his tail, sending out a cloud of embers. Vegeta couldn't avoid it completely and grunted in pain as he got singed.

"D-damnit!" The Saiyan cursed as he threw a small ki charge. But Sulfus avoided the blast and was upon him in an instant. His fist lit up with more fiery intensity than the rest of his body, he threw a punch that both rang Vegeta's senses and burned his face.

"Despicable." Sulfus spat as the Saiyan struggled back to his feet. No sooner did he look up that Sulfus breathed out a lance of flame aimed at him. Vegeta shakily jumped away only to then find himself punched through a wall and into another chamber.

"Everything about you is despicable." Sulfus continued to rant as he casually ripped out a beam from inside a wall. He swung with it at Vegeta's abdomen and the Saiyan threw up blood as he keeled over. "Mercenaries and soldiers run dangerous lives. Everything in what we do is serious. Keeping and weaving secrets, starting wars, watching over our own... backs." With added emphasis on that last word, Sulfus swung at Vegeta's back, causing him to collapse once more on the floor.

"It'd take someone with quite a character to keep things in perspective in that kind of job, don't you think?" Sulfus rambled, his tail's flickering growing alongside his excitement and aggression. "That's why you're not worthy of the Saiyans! Who'd want you as their Prince?!" And he sent Vegeta reeling once more with a kick to the face. "Sadistic beyond measure. Reckless. Egotistical. I've watched over your brethren and I've seen you too and I'll tell you this: the Saiyans, including and especially your sister, are much better off without you."

"Heh. L-like I ever got a choice." Vegeta smirked weakly as struggled up.

"Don't we all have a choice?"

"What the hell do you know?! Like you know what it's like to have nothing to live for!" Vegeta suddenly screamed out, his aura flaring up.

"W-what?" Sulfus blurted out, unsure if he was surprised more by the power burst than by the Saiyan's words. He took a couple of quick hops backwards but Vegeta was quickly upon him, taking a massive swing at him. The Kosajin barely blocked it with the beam but it shattered in the process, stunning him.

"Do you realize what I've been through? I've had to become what I am now, just because there was no other way, nothing else for me! How could you have left me like this?! " Vegeta cried out, delivering a roundhouse kick that Sulfus couldn't fully block with his right arm. The Kosajin went through an entire room, the boom of the blow and the bursting walls echoing with the fire-induced explosions and rocking of the space station. Sulfus got up slowly, dazed and now nursing a very sore, if not broken, arm. He eyed the heavily panting Saiyan carefully, taking in his every word.

"Nothing to live for?" Sulfus repeated. "How could I have left you like this? What in blazes do you mean and what does this have to do with me?"

"Because all I am today, my whole life, is because I never had any hope!" Vegeta replied sharply. "I lived my life on the fact that I had nothing else but myself. When you have nothing, that's all you can do. And then I met that stupid Kakalotto, who got almost everything one could want: family and friends to love and who loved him in return, peace. Something to live for, to protect. Something to die for." Sulfus' eyes widdened in realization. The Prince continued talking in spite of the slight but distinct quivering in his voice. "I envied that the most in him because I never had any of those. But then I realized that at least I had done the best I can. It was all I could do, right? But now you're telling me my race still lives somewhere? That I have a sister, even? All this time, something I could live for..." Vegeta almost choked the last few words, tears swelling in his eyes.

Sulfus' thoughts shifted downwards as the weight of the implications came on him. _What would I've done in that position? Still, we had no choice back then, didn't we?_ "Vegeta, I..."

"A lifetime!" The Prince cried out. "Just wasted. If I had known... No, I can't forgive you!"

Sulfus breathed in deeply, choosing his words carefully. _By the gods, I can just make this right for once, maybe?_ Vegeta stared intently at him, teetering between letting the Kosajin talk and tearing him to pieces, almost pleading with him silently to give him something.

Suddenly, a massive explosion, bigger than any so far, shook the Orion, this time ripping a breach in the hull on the opposite side of where the warriors were. They, along with the entire contents of the chamber, were abruptly being sucked out into space. Getting his instincts back together snappily, Sulfus twisted his body and then violently gripped the floor his hands and feet. Objects flew by him, some hitting him hard but he couldn't afford to let go. A Kosajin could survive in space but it certainly wasn't comfortable, quite the opposite. He and Vegeta had to rush out to the next chamber.

"Vegeta! Can you grab...?" Sulfus started but stopped mid-sentence as he looked around. The Saiyan Prince was nowhere to be found. "Oh no..." The Kosajin muttered in horror.

END OF PART EIGHT


	11. Ch 9: Responsibilities assumed

**QUEST FOR POWER 2: CHALLENGE KINGDOM**

By Konrad

PART 9

_Damnit!_ That was all Vegeta could repeat to himself as time was inexorably winding down for him. Floating in deep space, disoriented, his energy and his life slowly draining from him, his efforts at finding a way to safety proved useless and there was nothing left for him to do but die.

The dying Prince recalled a brief lecture Bulma had given him on the numerous ways deep space could kill unprotected beings. Asphyxiation was an obvious and certain killer. Certain, that is, if decompression hadn't yet caused irrepairable damage to the body, expanding tissue to unnatural proportions. The impossible cold would be another deadly effect, like a silent monster both more hidden yet more present than the first two. It was certain that Vegeta's Saiyan body would last several minutes longer than a human body could in these conditions. It was just as certain, as he simultaneously felt the cold biting at his skin, his organs stretching from within, and his lungs struggling for air, that it'll make his agony only that much more longer and painful.

Vegeta reflected back to Sulfus' taunts on how useless he had become. The Saiyans were alive somewhere striving without him thanks to his unknown sister. His son from the future had just died at the hands of a madman, a death he as his father failed to prevent. Then again, at least he still lived in the present. Wasn't the fact that the future version of Trunks had come back to the past in the first place proof that he had done well without him anyways? _My son... the sister I'd never know... Bulma... they're all better off without me._ The Prince reflected solemnly. The remaining vestiges of air left his lungs and he felt himself suffocating increasingly rapidly. So he wasn't going to die bloated or frozen like a comet destined to fall back on the planet, at least that much he knew as his mind was on the cusp of falling unconscious.

Suddenly a brilliant light filled Vegeta's sight. He felt himself jerked violently by a strong force and the cold instantly gave way to intense warmth. Something got a hold of him and was dragging him in a direction he couldn't figure out at first. A few, but long, seconds later, Vegeta felt air rush back into his lungs. His insides were no longer subject to intense pressure from within and the chill had long vanished from everything but memory. He looked up to realize that he was back in the Orion space station, in the arms of Sulfus.

"How you feeling?" The Kosajin asked him abruptly. "You weren't out there for too long for a Saiyan so you probably won't need any special treatment. We gotta move. This part of the station hasn't been damaged but it won't stay that way for much longer. We can still make it to the ships if we hurry."

Vegeta nodded absent-mindedly as Sulfus carried him away and back to the evacuation ships. He could barely understand what had happened. Only minutes ago, Sulfus and him were set to kill each other. Now the Kosajin had saved him once already and was leading him out of the doomed wreckage.

"W-Why...?" Vegeta started, his weakness keeping him from saying more. Sulfus stiffened momentarily, then relaxed as he continued leading them to safety.

"I have my reasons... some the same as Cooler. Others different. It's all because of him." The Kosajin started calmly, ignoring Vegeta's obvious and increasing puzzlement. "Cooler didn't like that Freezer wanted to exterminate the Saiyans. They never agreed on much really. Cooler saw Freezer as particularly brash, amongst other things. But most of the other leaders in the Planet Trade, including the two's father, King Cold, wanted to see your race dead or at least didn't mind. Only Dudan was on Cooler's side, thinking the Saiyans made good soldiers to call upon. So Cooler, with my help as well as Dudan's, had a few dozen Saiyans sent away secretly for 'missions'. Then we gathered them all on a small moon where they now live for the most part. Very few of us in Cooler and Dudan's armies knew about this. We'd call them up once in a while for critical secret assignments. A few years ago, the Planet Trade leaders started dying off so we thought it was safe to bring some Saiyans more openly into the top ranks of our forces. People like Djoukien. Our bosses themselves though did not live much longer than anyone else unfortunately..."

"And... this sister... that you mentionned?"

"Her name is Kita. She was born not long before the extermination but well after you had been taken in by Freezer. As a result, you'd never have known about her. As for you, Cooler wanted to save you too but it was impossible at that point."

"But... why'd he want to that... in the first place?" Sulfus sighed at the question.

"I'm not sure. Or maybe I think I know. He said it was the same reason as for Dudan, that the Saiyans were useful. But I think it was really because of his mother. She raised him... differently... than King Cold did. Cooler was much more like her."

"And now... you're a bit like Cooler too today." Vegeta remarked, smirking through the pain. Sulfus chuckled at the suggestion.

"Maybe. For a guy who's half-dead, you ask a lot of questions. Perhaps we'll see about that one day. But first, let's get outta here."

"Fair enough." The Prince concurred and the pair continued to make their way out of the doomed vessel.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

"18!" Aurora cried out as the Android was brutally tossed aside, body rolling to the floor. She lunged at their opponent but was easily knocked down. "Ow!" She whimpered.

"Alright, so let's continue with our chat, shall we?" Cerion said nonchalantly.

"Our 'chat'?! What makes you think I want to talk with you? You just come out and attack us out of nowhere, you crazy hag. The hell do you want from me anyways?"

"Hey! First of all, your friend there attacked me first after I clearly and politely told her to get out of here, so that's not my fault." Cerion pointed out to the barely-breathing Android, lying on the ground.

"And if there's a good reason why she attacked you?" Aurora sneered back.

"Secondly, what I want from you is you!" Cerion declared, pointedly ignoring the Kosajin's comment.

"What?! What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's because you're powerful, more so than you think. Or at least you got that potential." Cerion began, extending her hand to Aurora. "I can explain to you more about it and even teach you... because, really, it's what's in me too. If you just let me..."

"You... you want me because of my power?" Aurora muttered as her face dropped, prompting Cerion to raise an eyebrow.

_Huh?! Not quite what I expected... _"Anyways..."

"Get away from her, you're not having her!" Android 18 spat at Cerion. She struggled to get up but, with the fire of defiance burning in her eyes, she took forceful steps towards the Goddess.

"You again? I can't be bothered with you. Just don't move." Cerion launched casually and raised her hand, waving it absentmindedly in the direction of the Android. Almost immediately, 18 stopped moving.

"What...? What's going on? I can't lift my legs anymore."

"That's me, I put a mental command inside your own brain ordering you not to move. Now if I can get through with this without more interruptions..." Cerion informed, then she paused herself in shock as 18 managed to, barely, move one leg. "What the hell...?"

"You're not... getting... your hands... on her... stupid witch!" 18 spat. Sweat running down her face in torrents, she struggled mightily against Cerion's mental grip but nonetheless slowly took another step forward, followed by another. The Goddess meanwhile gritted her teeth as much in frustration as in effort.

_What in the name... How can she be strong enough to resist my mental commands? What kind of strength does she have?_ She wondered as she put the weight of her power into her mind control efforts._ That's it! I got to exterminate _her.

"I don't know how you're doing this but let's see if you can move a bit faster with a little... incentive." While still restraining the Android's movements as much as she could, Cerion prepared a large blast in her hands. She smirked as 18's expression to horror at the realization that she wouldn't be able to move fast enough out of the way of the blast.

"18, no!" Aurora yelled desperately as the Goddess fired her shot and she almost instinctively disappeared from sight. Cerion immediately tried to home on her movements. But a strong gust of wind, containing bits and pieces of Aurora's ki, passed over Cerion and almost overwhelmed her senses, causing the startled Goddess to leap back. Sensing a shuffling behind her and the wind blowing clear, she spun around to see Aurora gently cradling the barely-conscious Android 18 after having taken her safely out of the path of the blast.

_What the hell was that?!_ _It was neither speed nor teleportation. It was like... she was the wind?_ _But how?_ Cerion wondered as she panted heavily. _Bad enough the other one almost exhausted me struggling against my power, but this...?_

"Why is it always like this?" Aurora lamented softly to know one in particular. She started to massage 18's sore spots, knowing it wouldn't do much to her overall condition, hoping she'd at least distract her from the pain she was obviously in. Her silent fight against Cerion's control had visibly worn her out. "Everybody's asking me to do something. Father, Raikou, Gohan, you... I don't even know what the hell I want or what I should do."

"Listen, Aurora. It's called the 'Chuu' gene." Cerion said quietly after taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a few moments. "It gives those who carry it unrivalled power. Not only are they able to reach the highest limits of their heritage and quicker than any other, they're also able to go well beyond those limits. They can develop powers over the mind, space and time. And they can also live to be several centuries old. In practice, for lack of a better term though it's appropriate enough, those who have awakened their Chuu genes call themselves 'Gods'. And, Aurora, you are a God." Cerion paused to let that information sink in.

"A God..." The Princess mused to herself. "So all I am is because of that?"

"Well..." Cerion paused to reflect on Aurora's previous display. _Something else there._ "Something else there too probably. Maybe it's your Kosajin heritage. Strong as it may be though, it's still nothing compared to your capabilities as a Goddess. But it's not just power, it's responsibility. Unchecked or unsure of how to use their powers, or both, Gods once ravaged the Universe. You don't want to be a threat to your friends or others, now do you? That's why I must see to you, Aurora... if you let me." Cerion extended her hand and smiled gently down at Aurora.

"Get away from her!" A shout, masculine this time, interupted.

Startled, Cerion spun around to see Tenshinhan speeding at her in a blazing trail of energy. She barely managed to jump out of the way of the Triclops' fist, letting it impact the ground, and hopped some distance away to safety. When she recovered, Tenshinhan and Raikou, who barely a step behind, were standing firmly in the way to Aurora and 18.

"You?!" Cerion sneered.

"Yeah, me." Tenshinhan spat back. "Not too disappointed?" As they continued to trade barbs, Raikou was able to lend a supporting hand to Aurora and 18.

"Very. I'd rather have an interesting interruption to my business than a pair of self-important weaklings."

"Gohan told me all about you. Quite the gig you got there. Threatening kids into joining whatever your stupid cause is?" As he responded, the Triclops took careful note of Cerion's hastened breath. "And from the looks of it, you don't look like you're in shape to do much to even either of us. It seems whatever we felt you doing a few minutes ago did a number on you."

"Oh, I got plenty left for idiots like you." Cerion hissed.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

"There." Sulfus stated as he fastened Vegeta into one of the remaining evacuation vessels. "I set it to head for and land near Surge City, so you'll get back to Raikou quickly enough."

"Right." Vegeta replied weakly but gratefully. "Oh, by the way..."

"Yes?"

"We'll have to actually finish a fight for once." At that both men erupted into laughter.

"Ok, I really got to get you out of here before we explode with this whole place." Sulfus pushed a few more buttons and soon Vegeta's craft was racing away at great speed.

_Damn, can't catch a break since I stopped the dangerous life, can't I?!_ He mused to himself as he eyed another escape ship. _Alright, now my turn..._

Suddenly the Kosajin's hidden senses told him something was terribly wrong. Out of instinct he ducked and the business end of a cleaver swipped above where his neck was only a moment ago. Quickly, Sulfus leapt away and turned around. There stood a new stranger, a strongly built male with his green eyes barely visible through the red mask that otherwise hid his entire face including his forehead. His only other discernible physical feature was his blond hair falling down from the top along the sides of his head. He stood at least a few inches taller than Sulfus. His right hand held a weapon like a pole cleaver, from end to end longer than he was tall, except it seemed to crackle with energy.

"You are Sulfus of the Fire Kosajin?" The man asked. A visible furrowing of eyebrows was the only answer he needed. "I am Reaper of the Shintaisei. And by order of my Lords, you are to die here and now!"

_That power, like Cerion's... No!_

_- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -_

"This is far above you. You, the Android and the Lightning Kosajin aren't involved in this. Get out while you can." Cerion barked again.

"You don't get it, don't you?" The Triclops replied matter-of-factly.

"Get what?"

"This has everything to do with me. As a matter of fact I take this personally. These are my people, these are my friends... This is my squad, my responsibility." Cerion, Raikou and Aurora looked on briefly at Tenshinhan, processing the seriousness of his talk. _Ok, not quite the effect I was going for I think._ After a moment Cerion sighed.

"You probably won't believe me but this is my responsibility too." Cerion began. "I'm not some sadist but I must do what's truly right. It's not for myself when I say the power held by these children, Gohan and Aurora, can be a danger if they're not trained properly. That's why I must be this harsh."

"So you say." Tenshinhan calmly responded. "But I still don't think that's enough to take away their freedom or their lives. At least give them a real choice"

"Incidentally then, that leaves me no choice. I..." Cerion abruptly cut her sentence, suddenly staring up at the sky, her jaws open in horror and her eyes frantic. "What, Reaper...? Sulfus, no!" She screamed and promptly disappeared from sight.

_The hell was that about...?!_ Tenshinhan asked himself, stunned at the sudden departure. _What's going on?_ Not moments later, a familiar ki was touching his senses.

"18! Aurora!" Gohan cried out as he came barelling down at high speed. He touched the ground and rushed to 18's sides. "Is she okay?! I came as soon as I felt that woman's ki. Damnit, she better not have hurt her!"

Aurora nodded silently, though still feeling weary, as Gohan helped to support Android 18's body. Meanwhile, Raikou came up to the Triclops.

"Now that was handy. What'd you do to her?" The Lightning Kosajin spoke.

"Nothing." Tenshinhan answered tersely.

"So what got into her?"

"I don't know. But I do know we must be the last thing on her mind right now."

END OF PART NINE


	12. Ch 10: Peace in time

**QUEST FOR POWER 2:**

**CHALLENGE KINGDOM**

By Konrad

PART 10

_Hold on, please! I'm almost there._ Cerion thought frantically as she soared through space. She strained and pushed her powers to their limits, distorting the space around herself to create a portal for almost instant travel while restricting the flow of time for the briefest of moments. All this to ensure that she'll arrive at her intended destination less than a few miliseconds after she left Tenshinhan and his group. But somewhere in the back of her mind, the Goddess knew she wouldn't make it in time.

Cerion emerged onboard a flaming wreckage of a space vessel. Immediately her eyes fell on a masked figure she hadn't seen in decades... and at its feet, Sulfus lay unmoving, a large slash across his body diagonally. She didn't need to see the blood coating the other figure's weapon to figure out what happened.

"Cerion, it's been so long since I've seen you! I..." Reaper started.

"Get away from him!" Cerion screamed hysterically as she lunged at Reaper. Surprised, the latter leapt back. Cerion hastily knelt down besides Sulfus to feel for a pulse. There was none. "Sulfus! Sulfus!" She cried out but to no avail.

"It's no use, he's dead." Reaper stated as he tried to regain his composure.

"You did this?! Why?"

"By orders, to protect you from the influence of being among mortals too long..."

"Orders?! To protect me?! You piece of trash! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" The Goddess yelled.

She leapt at Reaper and threw a thunderous punch, instantly shattering his jaw. Reaper was sent sprawling to the floor, shocked by the ferocity of the attack, and quickly looked at her. She was lunging again at him, her eyes ablaze in crackling energy. Frightened, Reaper disappeared, teleporting away just as Cerion was about to reach him.

"You bastard, I'll kill you!" Cerion screamed once more to the empty spaceship. "Damn you... damn you all..." She said as her voice became more hoarse.

A terrible shaking startled the Goddess out of her cries. Understanding immediately, she lept at Sulfus' corpse and picked it up before teleporting out of the vicinity. As she jumped through the space distortion of her teleportation, she felt the ripples of the Orion finally exploding behind. Moments later, Cerion was back on Motu. Laying Sulfus down as gently yet as quickly as she could. She searched her mind for any and all reanimation techniques she knew, physical, mystical or otherwise, but none worked on the fallen Kosajin.

"Sulfus, come on, wake up!" She cried. "Please, just wake up... please?! Damnit, I never should've got you involved. This is all my fault, I'm so sorry."

Tears streaming down her eyes, Cerion leaned down to quietly steal her first and last kiss from Sulfus' cold lips.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

Android 18 opened her eyes only to shut them immediately, shielding them from light that hadn't entered them in almost a day.

"Ugh." She groaned softly. "What...?"

"18?!" Aurora yelped from beside her, causing the Android's ears to be in at least as much pain as her eyes were. "Thank goodness, you're awake! Oh, I was so worried..."

"Shhh, quiet..." 18 demanded harshly. In quick realisation, Aurora mercifully covered her mouth with her hands. Opening her eyes more slowly, 18 struggled to lift herself from the bed she found herself in. She quickly recognized the surroundings as the insides of Raikou's home. "What happened? How'd I get here?"

"The others found us just as you fell unconscious." Aurora started much more quietly. "Luckily, that woman that attacked us left and we took that opportunity to get back here."

"Well, I guess that's a good thing. What about me? How come I feel like I have burns all over or something?" 18 winced as she tried to turn and move her limbs.

"Probably a combination of exhaustion and muscle tear."

"Muscle tear?"

"Yeah. That woman, Cerion if I remember, tried to control your body but it didn't work completely. That meant your body was responding to her orders and your brain at the same time, which conflicted and so made some damage. But the doctors said it isn't a lot and you should be fine, just a little sore for a while."

"I see."

"I'm so glad you're okay! I can't believe you'd risk yourself like that for me."

"Why would you think that? I'd always help you, no matter what."

"Well, it's just that..." Aurora shifted her gaze downwards. "I-I thought that you hated me... but that's just so silly of me, that's so childish!" She added with a blushing.

"Actually, you were right." 18 responded softly. Aurora's face immediately dropped.

"Oh."

"It isn't your fault. Or rather, it wasn't. It had nothing to do with you, it was me, rather, acting selfish... jealous..." The Android admitted slowly.

"J-Jealous?"

"Like I said, it was all my fault. I didn't appreciate you for no good reason. Then I got to know you better over time, I saw how much Gohan believed in you and especially I saw you fight for what you felt what right for your people. I misjudged you so much and I'm really sorry."

"I-It's ok." The younger girl replied, smiling nervously. "I'm just so glad, I didn't mean to do anything wrong. So we can be friends?"

"Yes!" 18 rejoiced. "And I'm definitely gonna help you in becoming the Kosajin leader."

"Eh, about that..." Aurora's said softly, her smile dropping along with her gaze. "I'm not sure I want to do that anymore."

"Huh?! Why not?" 18 responded, frowning.

"Well I don't know what to do." The Kosajin sighed. "Everyone has this or that plan for me. Father and big brother... Cooler... wanted to raise me in totally different ways. They even argued about it, with Father insisting me joining them in outer space. But Cooler got me to stay here most of the time instead. Then, when they were gone, Raikou took me in. She wanted to train me to convince the Kosajin people to unite once and for all and stop all the wars. And now, that strange woman tried to get me to do something for her too... It's like everyone is pulling in whatever direction they have in mind for me. I just feel like being left alone!"

"Ok..." 18 thought for a moment. "So what is it that you most want to do? Where do you think you're needed the most."

"I-I don't know! I... I want to help out as much people as I can. That's all I ever wanted to do. Just to make a positive difference."

"Well, to me, it sounds a lot like what you were already trying to do, no?" The Android reasoned. "It must feel like the weight of the world, or more, is on you. People like us get a lot of that. But you know what, we have to make the most of what we have, that's our responsibility. And just hope we do the right thing."

"Yeah, I guess so..." Aurora responded meekly as she trembled slightly. She could only fidget on the spot and avoided 18's gaze.

"Hey, kid!" 18 smiled softly as she gently cupped Aurora's chin in her hand to force her to meet her eyes. "It's alright, you can do this."

"Thank you so much." The two girls stayed there for a while, chatting as Aurora tended to the Android's wounds, until a soft knock came to the door. "Yes?"

"Ah, so that's where you ran off to." Tenshinhan's voice came from the other side of the door and the Triclops almost immediately entered. Following him was Raikou and Gohan but also, to the girls' surprise, Nautikaa of the Water clan, Blok the Ground Kosajin, Typhoon and Tempest from the Wind, as well as two others. One of the new additions was a green, diminutive Kosajin woman, almost childlike in facial expressions and not reaching higher than the average humanoid waist but with an otherwise adult-like body. The other was a male of a completely different race, unfamiliar to Android 18 and the Z Squad. He was thin but tall, with pale-yellow skin and long hair in thick locks. Aurora immediately took note of Tempest's deep frown as he gave her a nasty glare, but her eyes turned to his cousin who, instead, gave her a warm, reassuring smile.

"What's going on?" Aurora asked.

"These people are here for you. So I'll leave all of you, and I'm going to check on our other 'patient'." The Triclops responded before leaving.

"Good day, Princess Cold." Nautikaa greeted. "After much deliberation, we've decided we've seen enough... and we're ready to begin negotiations over, hopefully, a long-lasting peace for our race and our planet."

"Really?!"

"Of course." The Water Kosajin said incredulously, somewhat taken aback at by Aurora's bewildered reaction. She then nodded in Gohan's direction. "You have friends who are both convinced and convincing."

"Like I remarked, I'm just as much an enemy of your father and brothers." Gohan added. "They hurt a lot of people, including my friends and my dad. But you're not them so you should at least be given a chance."

"It should be noted that some of us disagree!" Blok interjected.

"Indeed." Typhoon remarked and he scowled at his cousin Tempest just as the latter was glaring again at Aurora.

"All in all, my mind is made up for now. I think it is worthwhile to talk." Nautikaa concluded. She then designated the two new people with them. "I thought it was necessary that all the clans be represented so I asked a representative from the Wood, as well as one from the Native Motukians who always stayed neutral from Kosajin affairs. Unfortunately, no one from the Fire would be available. But anyway, this will certainly entail big responsibilities on us all for this to work. Especially you, Princess. What do you say?"

Aurora stood speechless for a few moments, not sure how to respond while the entire room remained silent, waiting awkwardly for what they thought would've been a quick positive answer. Tempest barely bothered to conceal a smirk creeping over his face at her hesitation, while Gohan, Typhoon and 18 looked uncertain. Even Nautikaa frowned slightly in incomprehension. Raikou sighed and went over to the younger girl.

"Aurora, do only what you want to do and what you feel is right." She said as she put a hand on Aurora's shoulder. "I never meant to put pressure on or anything since the beginning, I can sense that's what was bothering you. Even now you don't have to do all this if you're uncomfortable."

"It's ok." The young Kosajin replied. "I always wanted to do all I can to help, and if I can do that by getting these negotiations started soon, then that's good. It's just... well, it's always been kinda scary. It's so much to deal with." She then turned, smiling, to Nautikaa and the others gathered. "And it's such a surprise and I'm grateful that you want to work with me. I'm ready."

"Good, I'm very glad to hear that." Nautikaa spoke, visibly relieved. Gohan and Typhoon also relaxed, while Android 18 gave a thumbs' up. Even Blok nodded silently, along with the Wood and the Native representatives. But Tempest, on the other hand, gritted his teeth then abruptly stormed out of the room.

"What's wrong with him?" Raikou inquired.

"Don't worry, it doesn't matter." Typhoon sighed.

"Well, in either case, we have ourselves a truce." Nautikaa proclaimed to everyone's satisfaction.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

Tenshinhan, meanwhile, went to another room much further in the compound. When he entered, there was Vegeta strewn miserably across a bed and being attended to by a private nurse. The Saiyan groaned in his mind, awaiting a reprimand.

"Hey, you're less ugly like this than when you're healthy!" The Triclops exclaimed. Unable to throw himself at Tenshinhan, Vegeta merely responded with a dignified 'Hmpf!'

"What do you want?" Vegeta sighed.

"Just wanted to check up on you." Tenshinhan replied. He silently signalled the nurse for some alone time and waited until she was gone to take a seat by the Prince. He glanced at the medical report nearby. "Mild hypothermia, unusual internal gas buildup... Yoshuro found you in quite the shape yesterday."

"You could say I had some fun these last couple of days." Vegeta smirked. Tenshinhan rolled his eyes.

"So I figured."

"And how were things here?"

"The short or the long answer?" Tenshinhan sighed. "We had one hell of a time trying to convince the leaders of the other clans to start discussions on uniting. But they've opened up at least, representatives from almost all the clans are meeting with Raikou and Aurora right now..."

"Almost all...?"

"Yeah. The Water, the Ground, the Wind, the Wood and the Native Motukians, because believe it or not the Kosajin are actually alien to this planet. The only ones we haven't heard from are the Fire. It would seem like there's a big commotion there..."

"What kind of commotion?" Vegeta asked nonchalantly.

"A funeral." The Saiyan raised an eyebrow but Tenshinhan, not thinking much of the reaction, continued. "Apparently, a big name noble that disappeared years ago has just turned up dead. We didn't get more details."

"I see..." Vegeta responded with a curious expression on his face.

"Oh, and another thing. We ran into that woman, Cerion."

"What?!" Vegeta's eyes widened. This time, the Triclops didn't miss the reaction.

"I don't know how but she tracked us down all the way here. Not only did she want Gohan again, but she said Aurora was also like them and she was here to capture her too. She was putting a number on 18 and Aurora and could've probably done the same to me and Raikou. But then she left in a panic, it was weird."

"I see..."

"I wanted to warn you but it seems she didn't get to you after all. What were you up to anyways? I felt your presence way above the planet, up in space."

"None of your concern." The Saiyan responded more sharply than he intended to. Tenshinhan frowned and glared intensely at Vegeta.

"Vegeta, I understand that this concerns mostly you. Which was exactly why the rest of us came along in the first place too. We're your teammates. Remember that." Tehsnhihan admonished sternly. Vegeta rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Nothing very important. Except that supposedly my sister and the rest of my race are on another planet somewhere. Which I guess is fine for now."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean..." Vegeta took an uncharacteristic pensive look and gave a small smile. "I mean they don't need me... and I'm fine with that. I still want to meet them someday and I know that will happen. But for now, they're doing alright and that's all I need." Tenshinhan smiled back.

"Well, that's good enough for me, because it's about time we really head on home anyways."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean 'What do I mean'?!" The Triclops shot back. "If something happens to anyone one of us, the women back home are gonna kill someone. Me being the weakest and most obvious target, I'd rather that not happen. Besides, we've done a lot and we've been out for so long. I think it's just time we got back to our normal lives, as normal as they can get. I didn't get any objections from the others. I don't imagine you should have a problem with that either, right?"

"If you say so, I guess." Vegeta retorted with a chuckle.

"Good, I'll take that as a 'yes' then. I expect that we should be off tomorrow. Get yourself some sleep, Vegeta, we all deserve it." Tenshinhan half suggested, half ordered as he got up to leave the room.

"Hmpf! Fine, whatever..."

Tenshinhan had made it to the doorframe when he heard Vegeta mutter something else under his breath, surprising the Triclops into stopping. He turned his head but the Saiyan had already closed his eyes, ready to doze off and seemingly oblivious.

Tenshinhan shrugged it off and continued out of the room. He could've sworn that Vegeta had uttered something like "... though you're better at this than Kakalotto or the Namek...". _My ears playing tricks on me..._ Tenshinhan commented to himself and he quickly forgot the incident.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

The next morning, with Vegeta and Android 18 no longer needing extensive medical attention, the Z Squad remnants were ready to head back to Earth. Aurora and Raikou accompanied them to the local spaceport from where Yoshuro's ship would launch.

"So everything's going to go well, you think?" Tesnhinhan asked.

"I sure hope so." Raikou sighed but with a content smile. "Maybe this will be our first step to becoming one again... At the very least I just hope we can bring some sort of peace."

"I hope you can too, the both of you."

"Thank you for helping us so much." Aurora said, then turned to Gohan. "Especially you, Gohan, for believing in me. Can we stay in touch?"

"Of course, we'll always be there for each other!" The joyous Saiyan beamed and took Aurora's hands in his one last time.

As the Kosajin waived their guests goodbye, the Z Squad entered their ride.

"So, where to, fearless one?!" Android 18 said mischievously to Tenshinhan.

"What?" The Triclops responded incredulously.

"Nothing."

"You're damn weird."

"Then don't pay attention to her." Vegeta laughed. "So, think they'll be happy to see us back home?"

"Well, if all hell has broken loose there, yeah." Tenshinhan shrugged.

- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

The Skylight had barely entered the new star system that Cerion screamed in anger and slammed her fists into her dashboard. Even though this was the last place she had felt Reaper's energy signature, she knew he was no longer even within a few systems of her location. By now, he was more likely in another galaxy altogether. Panting in frustration, Cerion took a moment to calm herself and think. That Reaper wasn't able to immediately teleport himself out of this dimension meant that he was, for the time being, somewhat drained of power. Cerion allowed herself a slight smile of satisfaction: at least Sulfus went down with a strong fight.

_Sulfus..._

Her thoughts drifted back to her long time companion. Her comrade-in-arms. And, she realised too late, the man she loved. It was his association with her, a Goddess, that condemned him. The least she could do was give him a proper resting place. The previous day, she had taken his body in the Fire domain and put it near a public market, where it would be sure to be found. Surely enough, the finding of a famous Fire Clan noble dead, after decades spent with the Planet Traders, created an uproar, not least among his closest kin. From the safety of her ship, through one of her concealed cameras, Cerion saw the inconsolable mother. For a moment, she allowed herself to think how apt it was for someone so beautiful to birth an equally remarkable son. But she quickly shook it off. Sulfus' funeral was in three more days now but Cerion won't look at it then. She first wanted to get back on track to finding his murderer.

"That's more important." She kept telling herself frustratingly, almost like a mantra. "Besides, I'll look at the recording of the funeral and it won't hurt as much..."

Sighing, Cerion closed her eyes and reached out with her senses as far she could, pushing to the limits of the galaxy and beyond. She could feel every familiar aura and energy type she had ever encountered and could pinpoint each one. Reaper could be tracked if he stayed too long in one place and she would resume her pursuit. The Goddess paused for a moment but then abruptly opened her eyes, her jaw dropping.

"No way..." She murmured to herself.

Cerion shook her head and focused her senses again but to the same result. She couldn't be wrong. She reflected briefly on what to do. Her desire for revenge still burned uncontrollably. But Reaper could be hunted another time. And this was definitely something that couldn't wait and had to be investigated immediately. The Goddess knew too well the dangers of this new development, and the particular complications in this case were seemed strange at best. Reluctantly, she punched in new coordinates to the Skylight's system and prepared for another destination.

"I can't believe this." Cerion growled to herself. "Those two Earthlings, Piccolo and Trunks, are still alive... and they're with an activated Power Stone?!"

**CONCLUSION**

Thank you for your patience, all those who have followed this for so long! This concludes Quest for Power 2: Challenge Kingdom. Sulfus is no more but Cerion has no time to grieve that she has to investigate the true fate of Piccolo and Trunks while looking deeper into the mystery of the Power Stones. Follow their deep space adventures in Quest for Power 3: Emerald Ender, coming next. Also, death is not the end for Cooler and his allies in Quest for Power 4: Uprising. And will the Z Squad make it back home in time? What has been going on in their absence? I hope you've enjoyed this so far and catch you soon for more!

Konrad


End file.
